


Hoist The Colours

by jaehyunismybias



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Blood, Bottom Lee Taeyong, Drinking, Eventual Romance, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Pirates, Slow Burn, Smut, Top Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:08:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27138466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaehyunismybias/pseuds/jaehyunismybias
Summary: Taeyong finds himself forced to work for the notorious pirate captain Jung Jaehyun on his quest to find limitless power over the Seven Seas.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Lee Taeyong/Nakamoto Yuta
Comments: 16
Kudos: 211





	1. Singapore

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!  
> This is a JaeYong fic, but I'm adding som YuTae action as well, since I'm inlOVE with them.

_Year 1720 The ship with red sails made its way silently over the water, breaking the peaceful nightlight reflection. Aboard the old vessel, thieves and murderers were waiting for their moment to come, when they would get to do what they did the best. The gold was calling. A treasure valuable beyond measure. Captain Jung swore by the life of everything he held dear, he would fulfill his quest – no matter how much blood of the innocent would spill._

* * *

Taeyong woke to yet another day of endless boredom. The sun was irritating his eyes where he laid, and he groaned a tired chain of curses before moving up to sit, resting his sore back against the brick-wall behind him. Three more days. That was all he needed to withstand. After three days he would be escorted to the gallows and executed for high treason. Well, those were the charges anyway. Nothing more than mere false accusations – he had simply happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and somehow he had been associated with the attempted assassination of the Duke of Great-Britain, who happened to be traveling to Singapore at the time for some kind of royal wedding.

Not that Taeyong cared. He had accepted his fate. He didn't really put that much value on his life, however he had wished that if he died, it would be in a battle somewhere aboard of a ship and not while hanging from a noose tied around his neck. He was born and raised on the sea, being a merchant's son and all, and he intended to die an honorable death.

If he managed to live, he would have to find a new way of providing for himself. He was thinking of going to Tortuga next. He had not visited there in a good while. He needed but a ship and a crew, and he would be on his merry way – the booze and sex were something he could truly appreciate about Tortuga. He regretted that he had not stayed there when he had had the chance last year.

First there was of course the issue of him being locked behind prison bars by the coast of Singapore. Taeyong sighed as he stretched his aching limbs, yet again, mulling over the actions that had gotten him into this situation in the first place. He pondered over the things he could have done differently to avoid imprisonment in the first place. Somehow, the fact that he had happened to hold a gun up to another man – they had stolen all his money, so he thought it to be pretty fair if he happened to get a shot at the drunkards stupid face – was associated to the attempted assassination. Taeyong had not even aimed anywhere in his direction! Stupid royalty and their wigged heads up their asses.

He huffed and stood up, trying to crack all the bones in his neck and back before moving to the corner of the small cell to take a leak. He had not managed to cook up an escape plan yet. Perhaps he would come up with one when they would come for him in three days' time. The sudden clanking of keys against a guard's leg was a sound that peaked his interests; he didn't get visitors. Someone was either getting brought in, or forced out of their somewhat comfortable housings, or rather prison-cells.

Footsteps of two, nay three people were approaching him in a quick pace, the third party he guessed, was being dragged by their feet in. He lifted his head curiously, noticing the guards and what seemed to be an unconscious prisoner making their way to the cell opposite of Taeyong's. Sure enough, the men in uniform were dragging the body behind them, careless to the damage they might do to it. Taeyong tried to get a glimpse of the body but had no luck, the guards still standing in his way of sight. "You're where you belong now," a guard spoke, spitting on the ground next to the unmoving body, a disgusted tone to his voice. The other guard then locked the cell with one of his multiple keys, before following the other out of the prison, muttering something along the lines of "...Bloody witch...".

Once the guards left, Taeyong got a better look at the body. It was a woman, clad in a shaggy dress. She looked young and pretty, despite her appearance clothing-wise. She had bruises over her face, indicating that she had probably put up a fight for getting brought in. Taeyong could understand that. No such things as witches existed and if they did, he was sure that they looked nothing like her. Witches would be old and ugly, practicing dark forces and voodoo – this girl, or young woman, looked more like she had been brought in just for the hell of it.

A while later, maybe 10 minutes or so, the girl began to stir awake. Taeyong had lost interest in her after 5 minutes when she hadn't shown any signs of life, save for the steady heaving of her chest. She groaned softly, holding her head in her hand as she slowly pushed herself up from the ground. She looked around her cell after a while, probably trying to take in where she was and how she had gotten there.

Taeyong was sitting on the cold floor with his eyes closed, leaning his back against the wall and resting his head against the bars on the door. He was waiting for the food to come. He had grown accustomed to the almost constant feeling of hunger for the past two weeks he had spent locked up and he was able to ignore it at times, but knowing that the food would arrive at any hour now managed to make him feel a bit more hungrier than usual.

"Hey," The girl spoke up suddenly, trying to get his attention. Taeyong was too tired and hungry to care for the girl at the moment. Any time now... maybe they'll serve something else than stew this time. "Hey, you." The girl's voice was stronger this time, determination filling it. Taeyong breathed out and opened an eye to gaze at her, before resuming to his previous activity. "Are you a mute, or something? Why aren't you answering?" The girl was clearly set on trying to find a new friend in Taeyong, which bugged him. He needed silence right now. He was balling some ideas for an escape plan, and they would sound a lot more approachable if one, he could come up with one and two, he wouldn't be forced to drag her along with him just because she thought they had become the best buddies.

That or she was just trying to make simple conversation, and Taeyong realised that she was not going to shut up unless he answered, trying to sound as annoyed as possible. "Shut up." Taeyong then realized that he hadn't used his voice ever since he got captured, and it sounded raspier than usual. Maybe the girl took his words to the heart and actually listened, or maybe she didn't expect Taeyong, the oddly beautiful boy to sound like a knife had burned through his vocal-chords. She did shut up though, leaving Taeyong to his own thoughts.

The day passed, and Taeyong's usually calm evening went unexpected, as the girl had started up a ruckus. The guards that had arrived with food earlier in the day had been greeted with dirt and a bowl of stew to their faces, as the girl in the opposite cell started sharing what he thought about her imprisonment to them. She was feisty, if anything. Her temperament was something that would have intimidated Taeyong, if he wasn't who he was.

"Let me go, you insolent pigs!" Was one of the more nicer things the girl had the courtesy of calling the tired and angry guards. As if they cared, Taeyong had thought, silently wishing for someone to stuff a sock in her mouth. A dirty one, preferably. The girl's rioting stopped as fast as it had started, with a smack to her face and a promise of no food for the rest of the week.

The next day went pretty much along the same patterns as the day before. The imprisoned girl started her day with trying to break the lock of the cell-door, her mission being unsuccessful, if her groans and sighs were anything to go by. Taeyong wasn't surprised, he had tried it as well when he first was brought in. With one final frustrated scream, the girl gave up. Taeyong cringed at the high-pitched sound and jolted up from where he had been resting against the wall.

"Will you please, for the love of all that's sacred, shut up?!" He had listened to her fighting a loosing battle against the iron door for about 40 minutes, and his patience was slowly but surely wearing thin. In the end he snapped, startling the girl who now looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Well, what do you know. He talks." She then spoke, a sarcastic tone decorating her accented voice.

She slumped against the wall, mimicking the position Taeyong was sitting in. Taeyong huffed in answer, grateful for the silence that was surrounding them once more (Save for the snoring of the other prisoner, somewhere far to his left). "At least I'm trying to get out. You've been doing nothing but sulking ever since I got here..." Taeyong suppressed the groan trying to leave his mouth. He opened his eyes to look at the girl.

"Do you really think I haven't tried what you've been doing? I've been here for two weeks, and I'm telling you, there's no getting out of these cells, unless the guards want you to." He spoke. The girl only glared at him. As the day went on, Taeyong tried to avoid all the small-talk the girl was trying to make with him, only answering her questions with half-assed grunts. In the end, she gave up. She probably decided that Taeyong was what he was trying to come across as: a douchebag.

The next day, Taeyong counted he only had about 24 hours before he would face the hangman's noose. He was surprisingly calm though - he did have many years left to live, to experience and enjoy. But luck in his family had always worn a little short, so he wasn't actually surprised at the fact that he would be executed. But there was something in him that wanted to continue the life he had, no matter how poorly he was being treated, more often than not. A silent calling inside him that was resting its foot on his 'fight-or-flight' instinct. Maybe he would get an idea later on. For now, he planned on taking a nap, after all the hard sleeping he had done.

When food arrived later in the evening, Taeyong wasn't surprised to find more stew. It looked like it had first been fed to the pigs, before getting served to him. But he wasn't really someone to complain. It was still better than that one time he had been forced to eat human flesh in order to survive. Taeyong had seen some weird shit, and tasted it, so he forced every spoonful down trying to think of other things than the severed right arm of some bloke he and a few others had to make due with when they had been stranded for three weeks on some forsaken island somewhere in the Caribbean. Weirdly enough, a slice of bread had been added to his meal, and he looked forward to tasting it, saving it for the last.

After finishing his stew, he gulped down the mouthful of water than had been given him as well before he reached for the bread. While he had been focused on his meal, he had failed to notice that the girl hadn't been served any meal at all, and she looked at his slice of bread hungrily. Taeyong felt eyes upon him and glanced up at the girl, bread already halfway up to meet his mouth.

He examined the girl and noticed that she was very thin. So thin, that she wouldn't have needed to wear the corset she had, like the women usually did, to make themselves look desirable. No, this girl looked a little sick and dangerously close to collapsing – by the way she was eyeing his bread, she hadn't had anything to eat for at least three days, though she had only herself to thank for yesterday, and the fact that she could have gotten food if she had behaved correctly.

Her brown eyes were contoured by dark rings and bags and her cheeks had sunken into her face, making her look older than she really had to be. Taeyong looked longingly at his slice of bread before sighing, feeling how a part of him felt sorry for the girl. He moved closer to the bars before calling out, "Heads up." Then he threw the piece in the girl's direction, and it landed a little outside her cell, so that she had to reach a frail arm out to grab it, before hungrily devouring it in a few seconds. He examined the girl further, noting that she had to be from somewhere else. Europe, maybe.

"How old are you?" He was surprised to find himself asking this, considering he shouldn't have given a rat's ass about a stranger that was probably going to be executed like him. The girl, equally surprised of the question, looked at him. She had a ghost of a smile on her face, thankful for his kind heart. "15. I turned a while ago."

Taeyong nodded, curiosity bubbling in him. She was all alone, by the looks of it, having to fend for herself just like him. "You're not from around, are you?" The girl shook her head, confirming his suspicions, "My father and I have traveled all the way from Spain. He's a merchant." She spoke. Taeyong noted she had an accent, which he hadn't really paid attention to earlier. Still, she spoke well enough that he could understand her, indicating that she had spent quite some time reading and learning the language.

"I'm Izabel. What's your name?" the girl asked after a while. Taeyong pondered for a while, before deciding to answer the girl. It's not like the world would fall apart if he made one more acquaintance before he died. "Taeyong." The girl nodded and managed a soft smile.

"Thank you for sharing your meal, Taeyong." The conversation ended there, as Taeyong stood up from his place on the floor and moved to the bed of bricks in the corner of his cell. The food was making him tired, and he decided to take a nap. He had time to kill anyway.


	2. "Bloody Pirates"

Canon-fire, loud shots and screams were what woke Taeyong up the next time. He quickly rose to his feet to peak out of the little barred window he had been blessed with. A giant ship had arrived at the shore, shooting cannonballs from the left to the right, slowly but surely destroying the buildings and the high wall off the fortress that was encircling the town.

"What's going on?" Izabel asked, a confused yet tired tone in her voice. She had too been jostled awake by the loud bangs.

Despite it being night-time, the full moon and the burning buildings were enough to light the dark cells up. The shades thrown on Izabel's face made her look more sick.

"The city is being attacked." Taeyong answered, sounding more cheerful than in the day. He couldn't help it though. He hadn't seen anything exciting happen in a very long time. An attack on this godforsaken city was enough to lift his spirits. 

He watched as soldiers and citizens were running around frantically, the soldiers following orders being given to them, while the earlier sleeping Singaporean men, women and children were running around, trying to find places to hide and take cover from the fire.

A sudden loud bang echoing from somewhere behind the door to the prison startled the both of them, and suddenly the door was flung open. First, the body of a guard dropped in, then two men came in. One of them wore a headband, probably to keep his long silver mane from his eyes, and the other was significantly taller and broader with dark hair. Both of them had swords in their hands, and dangerous looks in their eyes.

The silver-haired man frowned, looking like he hadn't found what he had been looking for. "Where the fuck is the armory?" He held his bloodstained sword tightly in his hand, while his eyes ran through the room. The tall man examined the room swiftly and was about to turn back when he suddenly stopped. His eyes had landed on Izabel's little form. He whistled, taking in the sight of the exotic girl. Taeyong wanted to smack the man who was probably in his thirties, raking his eyes over the form of a 15-year-old. 

"Would you look at that..." he spoke, amusement glinting in his voice. It sounded to Taeyong like finding the prison was better than finding the armory, to this man.

Taeyong noticed the fear dancing in her eyes when both of the unfamiliar men looked at her, despite the defiant face she tried to cover it with. He could practically read their dirty thoughts. "Ya think the captain will mind if we bring 'er along?" The smaller man spoke, shifting his eyes from the girl to his friend.

"Help me." Izabel spoke softly, her eyes shifting from the tall man to Taeyong's un-amused form. Great. Now they know I'm here. Taeyong had hoped to stay unnoticed by the men - the girl had clearly begged to differ. It wasn't like he could do anything from there anyway...

The silver-haired man whipped his head around to find Taeyong's lean form and piercing gaze burning through him. Then he chuckled, his face twisting in a sinister grin under the pale moonlight. "Well, well, well... That's a sight for sore eyes. Johnny, take a look."

Taeyong had always known that his sharp features, lean form and big doe-like eyes made him somewhat desirable, both to men and women. So he wasn't surprised when the man did a once-over on his body and glancing over Taeyong's plump lips for a second longer than necessary, before locking eyes with him.

"Keep your wonder-boy, Yuta. I'm calling dibs on this one..." the man named Johnny spoke, making the one named Yuta chuckle. He approached Taeyong's cell, like a lion praying on a gazelle. Taeyong wasn't afraid. Intimidated maybe, but not afraid. He had been face to face with murderers before and had come out in once piece.

"Have it your way." He spoke in amusement. He reached Taeyong's cell, where the other stood equally close to the bars, arms crossed over his chest. Taeyong knew to stand his ground when he came face to face with men of this sort. Pirates, was perhaps the more common term. Criminals and murderers, who plunder, vandalize and take what they can, paying no heed to others.

"What's your name, dollface?" Yuta asked, a soft yet venomous tint in his voice. His lips rolled an amused smiled and his eyes held lust in them. Taeyong stayed unphazed and ignored the man's question, a defiant look in his steely eyes.

"Piss off." He spat. Unless they had the keys to spring them out of their cell's, Taeyong and Izabel had nothing to worry about.

"Feisty, are we? I love that." Yuta spoke nodding his head, amusement and something else flashing through his eyes. Taeyong's gaze shifted to the taller man, who was currently busy looking for the keys. His mind was clearly set on having the girl and to both of their dismay, he realized to check the dead guard's body, where the keys were dangling by his belt from earlier today when he had brought the newest prisoner in.

He looked at Izabel, who was already looking back at him, the defiant look on her face doing little to mask her fear. Taeyong understood her fright, but he also knew that she had a lot of guts, from what he had seen earlier with the guards. He felt a little sorry for Johnny, who was currently fumbling with the keys.

When he managed to open the lock he pulled out a rope from somewhere on his belt before grabbing her roughly and bringing her arms behind her back, tying them together. She was smart enough not to show pain and fear in front of the man, but Taeyong could see the discomfort on her face when her arms were twisted behind her back. "You're coming with us, and you'll walk without a fuss. Otherwise, I'll have to blow your pretty head of your shoulders, and that wouldn't make playing with you nearly as much fun, now would it?" Johnny spoke in the girl's ear while holding up a gun to her chin, making a show of his promise.

Izabel nodded hastily, blinking away the tears of pain threatening to spill and gasped when she was yanked roughly by her arms, Johnny having her in a bruising grip.

"Yuta, let's go" He gruffed once he reached the door, looking back to his companion who still was busy admiring the beauty he had found in the cage. Taeyong couldn't agree with Johnny more - they should go, he wasn't in the mood of dealing with dicks like them. 

"Toss me the keys."

Taeyong frowned when Yuta spoke, turning and waiting for Johnny to do as he was asked. He caught the keys one-handedly and moved to the door, impatiently trying to get it open.

Yuta looked at him like he was some animal for sale. He was disgusted and annoyed to say the least. But there was nothing he could do to free himself right now, as Yuta was pulling his arms behind his back, resting his bloody sword just under his Adam's apple. Taeyong swallowed, as his head was yanked back by his blonde hair.

"Start walking, doll." Taeyong shuddered, feeling the other's alcohol-stenched breath fanning over his ear as he spoke, standing too close to him for comfort.

This was not the way Taeyong had planned on getting out of prison.

He had heard the tales, many that were maybe a little far fetched, but he had never doubted the existense of the ship he was currently being taken to. The Viper, was the name that decorated the back of the ship. The very name that installed fear in the hearts of merchants and other pirates. A plague vessel, captained by a man so cruel that the Devil himself avoided making deals with him and manned by vicious murderers and rapists.

Taeyong doubted the last two facts were true, but held on to his suspiscions. If the ship was true enough, so might everything else be as well.

The ship had giant dark sails, that had been worn out by age and big rips and holes form canon-fire. The dark wood the vessel was made of was also timeworn, and all manners of sea-weed and corals were coating the bottom of it.

A loud ruckus was coming from aboard, as the crew were bringing in their loot and celebrating what seemed like some victory on deck. Taeyong could hear it from afar, as the sound carried itself over the water to the boats they were sitting in. He felt a few lingering looks on him but chose to ignore them by staring at his feet and trying to come up with different ways to escape.

He was sitting in the middle of the rowboat next to a heavily breathing Izabel, who had the attention of most of the men sitting there with them with the exception of Yuta, who was busy observing Taeyong's face for any flaws. Yuta had never seen a boy as beautiful as this one. He was intrigued to say the least, and couldn't stop himself for inspecting the pale complexion on the boy's face, or the rosy lips and big doe eyes that took your breath away. He was mesmerized. 

"Get up!" a man hissed while swiftly kicking Taeyong in the shin to get his attention, since he had been distracted of the fact that they had reached the ship. Taeyong growled lowly, trying to ignore the pain as his arms were being cut loose. He could try to jump in the water and make a swim for it, but the risks of getting caught or killed were too high. As if his thoughts had been read, Yuta spoke into his ear again as he was cutting the bonds open, "One wrong move, and I'll shoot you in the back myself. Now climb."

Taeyong could do nothing more than comply. Out of all the things that had happened in his life, getting kidnapped by a bunch of pirates was without doubt the worst thing, yet it was exciting in the same time. He had never been aboard a ship this big, and he was curious to find what it would be like, even if he only fot to spend a few seconds on deck, and probably the remains of his life in the cell of it. 

When his feet landed on the deck, he wasn't surprised to find drunk men celebrating over their stolen loot. They smelled of alcohol and sweat, and a pungent smell of iron was floating in the air. Taeyong wouldn't say that he enjoyed getting kidnapped, but he would be lying if he said it wasn't a bit exciting. He couldn't say the same for Izabel though, who looked as if she was about to burst into tears when she landed on the deck after him. So much for the tough exterior she held at the prison...

Taeyong could understand her fear though. He could only imagine what the men raking their eyes over her were thinking.

He soon felt his arms being grabbed again and he hissed as his captor yanked at them roughly.

Taeyong let himself be pulled away towards the center of the ship, not risking getting shot in the head for not complying. Before he could get lead down to what he suspected to be the prisoncells a voice called out, stopping him and Yuta in their movements. 

"What's this?"

Taeyong gazed the other man. He looked more like a boy, actually. He had boyish features and a matching physique, and was about the same height as Taeyong - he didn't look like someone who belonged to the same crew as Yuta and Johnny. And yet Taeyong noticed that he commanded some kind of respect from the crew, since Yuta answered his question without any snarky comments "We were looking for the armory, but stumbled upon the prison instead. We found these two in the cells. Ain't it better to release 'em from the noose and make 'em work for us instead?"

Taeyong didn't know whether to agree or not, but he kept silent even though he held his head up. From his peripheral vision he could see Izabel trying to show the same courage, but her gaze fell to the floor anyway. Johnny was standing a bit too close for her comfort, grinning like a maniac with one hand or her hip and the other twisting her bound hands.

The boy who had addressed them examined Taeyong, seeming to ponder over something carefully. Then he spoke, sounding final "Give him some food and water. He looks strong enough to work on deck..." 

Taeyong couldn't see Yuta's face from behind him, but he heard the disappointment in his voice as he answered, "Aye..."

He released the bonds around Taeyong's arms again, and grasped his shoulder firmly as he started leading him down the stairs. Instead of going down to the cells, the scent of food hit his nose and he felt his stomach growl in interest.

From the deck he still managed to hear Johnny's question of what to do with Izabel, but could do nothing other than walk forward, hiding a shudder, when he heard her cries as she too was lead down, but towards another direction.


	3. Part of the Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taeyong gets to know his crew mates a little better

Stomach finally filled with a proper meal, Taeyong might have actually admitted that being forced aboard the pirateship wasn't half bad. 

He had gulped the food Yuta had laid down in front of him, along with the cup of water, like a starving animal. Yuta only looked on as the boy ate, suddenly sulky about something - Taeyong was not about to make small-talk with the man who had given him the crazy-eyes.

Once he was finished eating, Yuta grabbed the boy again by his shoulder in a tight grip and led the way towards the prison-cells. Taeyong wasn't surprised at all. It would have been weird, and stupid of them, to put Taeyong in the same place to sleep with the rest of the crew for the first nights. Not that he really complained. Sure, he was being pushed from one cell to another. But at the very least he would get to sleep alone with a filled stomach.

Taeyong didn't fight it when he was shoved into the cell, and ignored the slithering voice of Yuta as he bid good night to his so claimed "dollface".

That night, Taeyong couldn't sleep. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was still unaccustomed to the fact that he was a prisoner on the most terrifying ships of all time. Maybe he was silently excited because he was back on the sea agai. Or perhaps it was Izabel's soft sobbing and whimpering that kept sleep at bay.

Taeyong knew what had happened. What they had done to her. Yet he could do nor say nothing that would change the events. Even if offering words of comfort would by some miracle help, he didn't know what to say. So he kept silent and pretended he was asleep, hoping that the heavy feeling in his chest would go away.

"Get up"

Someone was clinking with a set of keys next to Taeyong's ear. Against all odds, he had managed to fall asleep after all last night, and was now being forced to wake up. He shot up, instantly remembering where he was. His eyes immediately found a pair of brown eyes that were staring at him from the other side of his cell.

A lanky boy with, dare he say, beautiful features opened the door to his cell and threw a bucket and a mop at him.

"Start swabbing. First the lower decks, and lastly the upper deck, got it?" he had a voice that matched his looks, and spoke with a slight accent. Was everyone in the crew a foreigner?

Taeyong grabbed the mop and bucket and walked out of the cell, waiting for more instructions. He looked at the boy, who was about the same height as him. He noted a few scars here and there, nothing to serious. 

"The fuck are you looking at? Get to work!" The boy suddenly frowned, shattering the image of a passive and neutral soul that Taeyong had gotten about him.

Taeyong averted his eyes and moved to the kitchen area, where he knew he would get water.

While working, Taeyong got aquainted with a boy that seemed to be his age. He was chinese and, unlike the rest of the crew members, treated him like a member of the crew and not a slice of forbidden food. Qian Kun was his name, Taeyong learned.

He didn't know why, but he found himself asking questions about the crew, the ship and himself. He wasn't particularly interested actually, but it was nice to have someone reasonable to talk with for a change, even though they were a member of the most savage crew of them all.

"How did you come to join this crew of..." Kun looked at him as if he was telling him to choose his words carefully. "... Pirates? You don't seem like the type." Taeyong finished, wetting the mop thorougly before smacking it on the hard wooden deck.

Kun grinned and repeated the action Taeyong did, scrubbing away on a hard stain. "I simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." he spoke.

"I've been a part of this crew for a little over a year now. I've been in your shoes. In fact, still am. They leave the dirty work for the newbies, you see..." he spoke silently, casting an amused smile at Taeyong, who only chuckled and scrubbed.

"What about you? Wrong place, wrong time?" Kun asked, wiping his brow.

Taeyong thought back to the incident in Singapore that led him into being imprisoned, and then taken here.

"You could say that..."

They continued on in silence, finding nothing new to talk about. Taeyong didn't mind listening to the waves hitting against the ship, nor the loud noises of the crew above, doing the work that had been assigned to them.

So they worked on and soon they reached the upper deck, where Taeyong could enjoy the sun burning in his neck and the gush of the wind against his hair. It had been a long time since the last time he was out at sea, and he would have lied if he said he hadn't missed it dearly. He was born and bred on the waters, and there he belonged.

While scrubbing the deck, Taeyong took the time to look around. The sails, that had appeared black in the night where of a wine-red color, and had severeal holes in them from misfired cannonballs. The dark wood of the deck and the ship looked worn out from old age.

Taeyong spotted many faces up on the deck, including the young boy from last night, the guy who woke him up and the tall guy called Johnny. They were laughing about something, and Johnny was making gestures with his arms flailing about.

"Who are those?" Taeyong asked, once he found himself close to Kun again, and nodded towards the direction of the trio. They had some kind of aura about them, that drew his attention to them more than the others. Or maybe he only was curious because he had met them for a brief second, and wanted to know more.

Kun followed his line of sight and returned to his task soon after.

"The tall one's Johnny. He's the Master Gunner. This ship's never lost a fight thanks to 'im. Nasty one, that."

Taeyong nodded, waiting for the Chinese to continue.

"The tall, skinny one is Ten. He's with Johnny. Even nastier than the other. He might look nice, but he'll tear ya a new one faster than you can say 'Aye' if you get on his bad side. He's also second mate." Kun continued, grinning. He seemed amused. Taeyong didn't know why.

"The third guy is the Quartermaster, Jeno. He can actually be quite reasonable and nice, if you play your cards right. He's also the captain's brother..."

When Kun didn't continue Taeyong went back to work, thinking of all the ways he could make himself as invisible as possible on this deck until he managed to find a way out of there.

After being finished with their work, Kun and Taeyong moved down to the kitchen area for water. Taeyong made sure to snag an apple he saw left in a bowl.

While Kun went to relieve himself, Taeyong enjoyed his apple in peace. He had half the mind to moan at the first bite. He hadn't eaten anything this sweet in a while.

While waiting for Kun, he thought about checking out how Izabel was doing. No doubt she was still resting in the cage next to his, he snatched another fruit for the girl knowing she hadn't eaten anything in days and must be exhausted. He grabbed a cup of water as well, before quickly making his way to her.

As expected the girl was crawled up in the corner furthest away from the door, hugging her dress-clad legs close to her chest.

"I brought some water and food." Taeyong said after a while, softly breaking the silence. The girl didn't respond to him, which he could understand. The last thing she needed right now was a male presence.

He didn't know what else to do or say, so he waited for some sort of sign that she was still concious - when he didn't get one he turned around with a sigh and returned to the kitchen, where the sight of a sweaty, shirtless man he recognized as Yuta's lean form greeted him. 

He was sitting on the table with his feet in the bench, hunched forward and sharpening a pocket knife. His silver hair was falling over his eyes, well sort of - hence the headband. Taeyong let his eyes linger only for a second longer than necessary to notice that the guy, although small built, was ripped.

Taeyong ignored the macho presence of the man and continued munching away on his half eaten fruit, sitting down on the opposite side of the room to wait for Kun.

"Still not gonna tell me your name? Or should I just continue to call you dollface, dollface?" Yuta spoke after a while, breaking the comfortable silence Taeyong had enjoyed.

He did not answer, eliticing an amused chuckle from the Japanese guy. He stabbed the knife into the wooden table and looked up at the beautiful boy sitting as far away from him as possible. He ran his tongue along his teeth and continued, leaning back on his hands for support.

"The more you play hard to get, the more interested I'm gonna become..." he taunted, giving the boy a once-over for the umpteenth time.

Taeyong noticed movement in his peripheral vision and didn't have to think twice to know that the snake was slithering closer to it's prey. 

Taeyong had fended for himself ever since he was 15 years old, and many times had he been face to face with jerks alike and had fought off anyone who tried their luck against him. Yet Yuta was someone he did not want to fight against. He seemed like the type to fight dirty. The crazed look in his eyes told Taeyong enough about what Yuta was like as a character - he decided against provoking him. For now, atleast. 

How fucking long does it take to take a piss? Taeyong damned Kun in his mind, moving the apple towards his mouth for another bite.

Before he could however, a hand stopped him by snatching the juicy fruit from his hand. Taeyong frowned at Yuta, who had sat down next to him with his legs dangling of the opposite sides of the bench and looked back at him with a fire in his eyes before taking a generous bite of the apple, not breaking his eyecontact with the Korean beauty.

"Mmm. Tasty..." Yuta grinned, chewing the apple loudly. Taeyong could only look on as the man enjoyed his apple, not being able to ignore the fact that the juice of the apple was slowly dripping down the side of the man's lips to his chin.

Taeyong was a very passive man. Not much managed to get on his nerves beside constant loud noises, whining and ignorant pricks, in this case guys like Yuta. Taeyong shouldn't have let the man provoke him in the way he did, but he snapped.

"I'm not playing hard to get, asshole. I'm simply not interested in dicks like you." Taeyong spat, a smirk of his own plastered on his face, yet his eyes and his voice held nothing but loathing in them. He then realised this was the first time he had spoken to the guy, and that it might have been a mistake. Judging by his growing grin, anyway.

"Aww, don't be so sure about that, doll. I'm sure you actually might find yourself liking my dick." Yuta taunted, resting his tongue between his teeth as he grinned. He was leaning into Taeyong's personal space, trying to intimidate him - Taeyong hoped he would bite his tongue off.

He was this close to smashing the guy's face into the wooden table, if it wasn't for Kun's voice suddenly stopping his mind from trailing into further details.

"Taeyong! Let's go."

Yuta's eyes looked from Taeyong's eyes down to his lips before the latter stood up abruptly and walked to where Kun was standing with a perplexed look on his face.

Before leaving Yuta's earshot completely, Taeyong heard him purr.

"See ya around, Taeyong..."

Not many people managed to get him to feel as on edge as he did right now, and he shuddered.

"I fucking hope not..." he mumbled, before proceeding to explain to Kun what had happened while he was gone, and why he was this close to being pounced on.

The next day went on pretty much in the same pattern as the one before. This day had been hotter though, and Taeyong was exhausted. The day's work in the heat of the sun had been tiring, and all he looked forward to was a nice dinner and some sleep.

After finding a nice, unoccupied spot by one of the tables he sat down to eat the soup that had been distributed to all of them equally. The obnoxious laughter and the obscene stories of the crew did little to kill his hunger, as he all but shoveled the food down his throat. He had hoped to slip away quietly without being noticed, but when was luck ever on his side?

"Oi, wonder boy!"

Taeyong stopped in his tracks and turned to face the voice that had called for him. The voices on the deck quieted down after hearing Johnny's booming voice.

Taeyong had gone two days without getting any unnecessary and unwanted attention. He had usually had the time to slink away, before the dining-deck got too crowded. Today however, the universe seemed to have other plans.

"What's the hurry? Join us for a drink."

Feigning kindness, Johnny put on a small smile. He sounded drunk. Next to Johnny sat Ten with a hand resting on the tall man's thigh, along with Yuta and some other guys Taeyong didn't know. For once, Yuta wasn't fixing him with a disturbing gaze, as he had directed it onto the food he was currently shoveling down instead.

" 'm tired. Maybe tomorrow." Taeyong answered, a sigh escaping his lips. He didn't feel like getting into some sort of fight with anyone tonight, but would stand his ground if he was being challenged.

Johnny huffed a chuckle, displaying a mocking grin and raised an eyebrow. "Don't be such a pussy. We won't bite." Johnny spoke, amusement coating his voice. ".. I mean, he might, but only if you want him to" Johnny continued, referring to Yuta with a nod as he spoke. A chain of chuckles was heard, and Taeyong cringed.

When Taeyong didn't give him an answer, Johnny's eyes darkened slightly. "I won't ask nicely again, love"

Something told Taeyong that Johnny would keep the promise his voice was warning about, and he sighed. These bastards were really persistent, weren't they. In the end he gave up and pushed Kun's, along with his own, warnings away and reluctantly sat down next to the empty seat beside Johnny.

They poured him a cup of rum, or something that looked equally good, and he took a heartfelt gulp of the strong drink. 

"Care to share why you were rotting away in one of the most disgusting and boring places in the world before we found you?" Johnny asked, one eyebrow raised as he watched the boy throw back most of his drink, before filling his mug up again.

Taeyong cringed at the burning in his throat. Whatever he was drinking, was neither rum nor ale. But it was alcohol, so he didn't really care. He snorted, feeling amused when thinking back on the imprisonment in Singapore - the guards would face a nice surprise when finding the empty cells and a rotting guard.

"False accusation," he took another swig of the burning drink, ignoring the expectant looks of the crew members. "Assassination attempt."

"On who?" a young lad sitting next to him asked, wide eyes filled with amusement.

Taeyong huffed out a small laugh, still remembering the shocked looks of the guards and royalty who saw him point a gun in, apparently, the Duke's face.

"Take a wild guess," he mused, sparking an interesting conversation.

Taeyong was surprised to find that these people were actually quite easy to talk to, when given the chance. Sure, the bells in his head still tolled in warning, but the alcohol in his system told him to calm the fuck down already. Soon enough, he found himself sharing and listening to a few of many weird escapades all while trying to ignore the way he was starting to feel more and more welcome with this crew of misfits.

Soon a new face showed itself down on the dining-deck. Taeyong wouldn't have noticed because of his conversation with the kid next to him, if the air in the room suddenly hadn't turned quieter. A few heads turned to acknowledge the presence of the man, with a nod of their heads, who was carrying himself elegantly over to the table where Taeyong was sitting.

The man sat down next to Johnny, diagonally across from Taeyong, and accepted the beverage that was handed to him immediately. Johnny suddenly turned to whisper into the mans ear, something important based on the sudden serious face he now sported, in contrast to the drunk grin he had just a second ago. The man listened, but didn't answer Johnny's questioning eyes when he finished, as his own focused on a face he hadn't seen among the crew before.

"Who's the runt?"

All faces turned to Taeyong.


	4. Captain Jung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter for today.

"Who's the runt?"

The first thing Taeyong thought when the man spoke, was that his voice was surprisingly soft for someone who looked so gruff.

The second thing he thought was "You're one to talk, scarface"

The man's face was, pointedly, decorated with scars. The most prominent one was a deep one on his left side, making a clean cut running down from his eyebrow, by his nose and diagonally across his lips. Yet the scars did not hide the fact that this man still managed to look good. If anything, they seemed to highlight his features more.

While he was silently scowling at the new arrival, who still hadn't taken his eyes away from him with an equally pointed look, Johnny was hasty to start explaining.

"Oh, that's our newest crew-member, sir." Johnny started, almost as if he had forgotten about Taeyong's whole existence the moment the man had entered. "... Found him along with a young lass rotting in the prison in Singapore. Good sport"

Taeyong didn't care for the compliment decorating Johnny's otherwise lewd mouth and continued observing the new man in silence.

He must have been none other than the captain, Taeyong was sure. Even Yuta was averting his eyes from the man in silent submission.

The man remained silent, lifting an eyebrow at Johnny's words. He grabbed his drink and gulped a fair share of it down, before speaking.

"I wasn't aware that I had asked for new recruits." His voice soft, yet tinted with something that made Taeyong know that he wasn't all too pleased with his Master Gunner's actions.

Still the man reached a sturdy hand over the table, disrupting the few of the other's who had gone back to eating, and introduced himself to his newest crewmember.

"Captain Jung Jaehyun." He maintained eyecontact with Taeyong, who was sure his gaze had softened in the slightest, or maybe turned a bit more polite. That, or Taeyong's tipsy eyes were playing tricks on him which was more likely.

Taeyong looked at the hand, slightly surprised, before grasping it with his own in a firm handshake.

"Lee Taeyong." He spoke, in a confident voice of his own, and shook the hand firmly. Captain Jaehyun only nodded in acknowledgement, before retreating his hand and grasping it around his drink.

This was the only verbal interaction the two of them shared that night, as the captain's attention was drawn away by Johnny's rapports and whatever other things they shared in common as they talked.

Taeyong's attention was whisked away by the kid next to him, Mark was his name, as he eagerly continued the tale he had been telling before getting interrupted by the captain.

The next day was no different from the previous ones. The sun was merciless, making Taeyong's and Kun's work that much harder than it should have been. Taeyong had half the mind to grab his bucket of water and chucking it over himself.

Beside the almost unbearable heat, they were surrounded by the vastness of the ocean, no land in sight and no winds were blowing today, which seemed to dampen captain Jaehyun's mood by a lot.

The captain was frowning, glaring at what Taeyong guessed would be a map and compass, and beads of sweat were rolling down his scarred features. The thin, white shirt he wore was clinging to his back like a wet cloak, showing of his defined back.

While scrubbing an insufferable stain, that Taeyong swore hadn't been there the day before, he couldn't help but to overhear the heated conversation between the captain and his slightly less hotheaded brother.

"... We won't be making it in time. Not without any bloody wind in our sails." Jaehyun frowned

Jeno, who was enjoying some kind of beverage that looked suspisiously like the drink they had served Taeyong the night before, was leaning against the railing closest to the stairs that led up to the poop deck (the floor on the back of the ship that makes the roof of the captain's cabin. Also where the wheel is located)(yes, it's seriously called that).

He took a swig of the brown drink before casting a reassuring look to his older brother, who was still occupied staring daggers through the charts, before answering calmly.

"We'll make it. This is just the calm before a storm..."

Jaehyun didn't answer as he lifted his gaze up to the blue sky. Taeyong noticed the dark rings under his eyes when he dared a quick glance over at his captain. Jeno seemed to have noticed them too, as he set his drink down and moved closer to Jaehyun, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You should get some rest, Jaehyun. There's nothing any of us can do about the weather."

Jaehyun's frown increased, despite his brother's act of concern, and he shrugged his hand off of him. "I'm fine." He grunted before moving to walk to the opposite side of the deck, staring out over the blue horizon to calm himself down.

"I'd sell my soul for a gust of wind or a little rain..." 

Taeyong snapped his attention to Mark, who's voice he heard from above him. The boy was climbing down the shrouds on the mizzenmast and looked down at Taeyong from where he was standing on the net, a soft smile playing on his face.

Kun frowned up at him, concealing his eyes from the sun as he spoke.

"Don't talk like that!"

Taeyong continued swabbing the deck, listening to Mark being scolded by Kun as his mind drifted of to the conversation he had just heard. Where would they not get in time? What's the hurry? They were pirates, runaways and lawless. They could go wherever and whenever it pleased them. So what was captain Jaehyun up to?

Before he had the chance to open his mouth to ask Kun and Mark about it, a familiar voice suddenly interrupted him in his thoughs and he groaned.

"Taeyong~" the voice singsonged. Taeyong ignored the nearing presence and kept his gaze down at his mop. Next to it he suddenly saw a pair of boots that belonged to none other than, the very sweaty and shirtless, Yuta. Taeyong sighed soflty and looked up at the other, who sported a nasty grin on his face.

"What do you want, Yuta?" Taeyong plastered on a fake smile as he rested his hands on the shaft of the mop. Yuta's grin only seemed to grow at the use of his name, as he stated his business to the boy.

"I'm kinda thirsty. Would you be a lamb and get me some water?"

Taeyong groaned, silently telling himself to keep his cool.

"You walked all the way up here, just to ask me to fetch you some water?" Taeyong deadpanned, noticing from his peripheral vision how Mark tensed up as he talked back to their superior. Yuta was the first mate sure, but that didn't give him the right to boss anyone else around just for the sake of it.

"What can I say. I enjoy watching pretty boys fetch me stuff..." He spoke, not bothering to hide the fact that he was blatantly checking out the curve of his hips.

"No. Get it yourself." Taeyong inhaled, dipping his mop into the musky water as he continued swabbing the floor. He missed the way Yuta's grin fell for a second, before he replaced it with a new one. He stomped his foot down on Taeyong's mop, catching his fiery eyes once again.

"I won't ask you nicely again, dollface." His words rolled like venom of his tongue, and Taeyong sucked in a mouthful of air before quickly turning his head back to the other, stepping into the silver-haired man's personal space.

"Threatening me?" Taeyong spoke, eyes looking defiantly back at the Japanese. His patience with this man was wearing thin. Normally he wouldn't have reacted so aggressively, but Yuta was acting like a total jackass once again, and the heat was certainly not helping the situation.

Yuta liked the fire he saw in the other's eyes and chuckled, leaning forward.

"Why don't you come and find out..." he purred, loving the cat and mouse game between them. Before things could escalate, their little feud ended before it could start.

"Break it off, you two." Jeno's authoritative voice split them up. "Yuta..." his voice warned. Yuta didn't drop his amused grin, but stepped back slowly. 

He cast a look over Taeyong's shoulder at the Quartermaster and raised an eyebrow at him, before turning on his heel and walking off, grabbing the half-empty beverage that Jeno had left on the railing minutes before. He downed it in one go and threw the empty mug over his shoulder, missing Mark's head with a few inches.

Taeyong took a breath to calm himself down, sweeping his eyes over the deck. He caught the gaze of a scarred eye, before breaking it quickly and returning to scrub the same spot he had been scrubbing for the past 5 minutes.


	5. Unknown Destination

Much to Taeyong's chagrin, Jeno's prediction about a storm brewing up had come true that very same afternoon. One second they had been drowning in their own sweat, and the next heaven broke loose over them and released the biggest storm Taeyong ever had been apart of at sea.

As much as Taeyong and the rest of the crew had wanted to go under deck and sleep the storm off while praying the whole ship wouldn't be rocked upside down, they had to stay up. Every hand had been needed on deck.

Somewhere behind the rumbling of the thunder, the waves crashing against the ship and the hard rain pouring down over them, Taeyong had heard Jaehyun bark out orders, and Jeno's and Yuta's voices echoing them.

"Secure those ropes!", "Heave!", "Put your backs into it!"

Taeyong was grateful he had grown up on the sea, and had therefore learned what to do, when and where - his job had been relatively easy, considering he knew how ships worked and what to do in order to preserve them. So he had swallowed any form of pained grunts he wanted to release while pulling and holding the slippery ropes that threatened to cut through his hands.

When the storm passed and the sea calmed down, Taeyong sat down on the stairs leading to the captain's cabin. Days of hard labor were taking their toll on his muscles, and the callouses forming on his hands where stinging. His hair war dripping and his clothes were drenched in water. But he knew better than to complain out loud. The sea could have been merciless and tossed them all overboard, making his manageable injuries seem like nothing. But as luck would have it the storm spared them all the fate of Davy Jones' locker.

"You've done this before."

A deep voice, much like the sea, spoke. Taeyong looked up to its source and was surprised to find captain Jaehyun, of all people, standing there talking to him. He had come across as a man with a short temper and an even shorter tolerance for people, (after all, he had not made the best first impression on him by calling him nicknames!) so Taeyong couldn't help his lingering gaze of confusion as he looked up at the other's equally drenched features.

Then he realized he must've been staring, considering the raised eyebrow and the way his captain cleared his throat.

"Aye. I've sailed under many flags, and was raised on the seas." Taeyong answered with a nod of his head, clearing his throat of the weird bubble that had appeared at the same time the other man made his presence known, as he looked back to the callouses on his hands.

"That so?" Jaehyun spoke rethorically and leaned against the railing of the stairs, missing the way Taeyong had failed to acknowledge his superiority while eyeing the retreating storm-clouds.

There was a long beat of silence, but Taeyong didn't mind it. The captain had approached him first, so he remained silent as he waited for the other to state his business. Before the scarred man could open his mouth however, he was interrupted.

"Captain! The bowsprit is broken. Probably crushed by the waves." Ten's voice reported. Taeyong hadn't noticed when the boy had sprinted from the forecastle deck to them, and looked up from his abused hands to the drenched boy who didn't spare him a glance.

Jaehyun's baritone voice turned gruff as he furrowed his brows. "Will it affect our voyage?" He straightened his back and turned all business mode, pushing himself off of the railing.

"Not necessarily, sir. But if we're hit by another storm it will probably shatter entirely, bringing down the jib-sails." Ten spoke, having his hands behind his back.

The captain hummed, his forehead creasing in thought. Taeyong pretended not to notice how the muscles in his back flexed under his wet shirt as he ran a hand through his damp locks.

"We don't have time for delays. Maintain our course to the Blood Isles." He finally spoke, dismissing his nodding second mate, before he turned towards the stairs and started walking up toward his cabin. He stopped by Taeyong, "Go get some rest, sailor," he said and patted him on the shoulder, before he dismissed himself.

Taeyong nodded and forced himself up from the stairs, leaving to do as his captain commanded him. When he reached the kitchen, he snagged himself some bread that the cook was handing out to those who found themselves downstairs already. Before he could move to his newly appointed hanging mat, he heard voices a bit further away where he knew the prison cells would be. He recognized Izabel's voice, not that it was hard considering she was the only female presence on the ship. Taeyong realized that he had almost forgotten the girl's existence, and decided that now would be a time as good as any to pay her a visit (and save her from a possible new assault.)

When he reached the cells, he was surprised to find Mark of all people standing by the cell, holding the keys in his hand. Izabel had crawled to the furthest corner of her cell and was clutching something that looked like a piece of wood close to her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere with you" she spat at the young boy, the same fire from nights before having returned into her eyes. Taeyong almost smiled at the wide eyes Mark sported when he looked back to the girl to try to explain his deeds.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, I already told you." Mark sighed, rattling the keys in the lock. Taeyong noticed how the girl tensed and decided to announce his presence.

"What's going on?"

Both heads swiveled over to where Taeyong was casually strolling over.

"I just thought the girl would like to stretch her legs after being cramped up in here for so long." Mark hurried to explain, hoping to convince Taeyong of his completely innocent intentions. Taeyong really wanted to believe the boy. He had proved to be kind, and seemed a bit naive sometimes - almost as if he didn't have a bad bone in his whole body. But considering he was part of this crew, Taeyong forced himself to think twice about it.

He closed the gap between the cell and him and examined Mark's expression, or more importantly his eyes. From the information he had gathered about the crew he was pretty sure that Mark was the smallest threat out of all of them, but he couldn't be sure. He didn't seem to be lying though, as he looked back at Taeyong with the same wide eyes that had looked at him in curiosity when he told the crew about his previous escapades.

Taeyong broke their eye-contact and looked over at Izabel who looked at him with tired, brown eyes. He threw the bread he still held in his hands over to the girl and spoke, "It's okay Izabel. Mark is nice."

Izabel's gaze turned sour and she looked at him with disgust.

"Oh, so you're one of them now. Good for you." She spat, not reaching for the bread even though the hunger in her eyes protested. Taeyong could understand her resentment, so he said nothing. He didn't know why he cared for the girl so much, since they were just strangers to each other.

He sighed, not able to say anything to his defense. It wasn't like he could tell the girl he was forced to hard labor. Not when she had been forced to far worse.

"Leave the girl alone, Mark. She doesn't want to go anywhere." Taeyong spoke, turning his back to the cell and started to walk away, waiting for the boy to follow him. Mark had the mind to talk back - the girl was their prisoner and should do as told and Taeyong, as the newest member, had no authority over him. Besides, he felt bad for the girl and only wanted to help out. Yet begrudgingly, Mark hung the keys back on their place and strutted after his new crew-mate, hoping that leaving the girl alone for now truly was what she needed.

"What are we doing?" Taeyong found himself asking Kun once he finally saw the Chinese boy, as he approached him and sat down by the table to eat their meal of the day.

Kun looked hungrily at his soup and didn't spare a glance at Taeyong as he answered, before shoving a mouthful of the food down his throat.

"What do you mean?"

Taeyong, who sort of lost his appetite while looking at the way Kun was ungracefully shoveling his food down like a starving man, sighed. He raised an eyebrow and looked on, slightly surprised, as the ever so neat boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve while using his other hand to continue the flow of the food to his stomach.

"I mean, what is the destination of our little voyage?"

He had been pondering over this ever since he heard the conversation between the captain and Ten. The Blood Isles? Taeyong hoped the name was misleading, and that he wouldn't have to indulge in anything concerning blood. His own, anyway.

"'Dunno. The captain's not told us much. Only that we're on some mission of retrieving something..." Kun answered, emptying his cup filled with the same brown liquid from previous nights ago. Taeyong was convinced it was their own concoction of some kind, since he was positive he had never tasted anything so bizarre in his life.

He frowned, not convinced by the answer Kun gave him.

"You're saying you are all blindly following your captain into any sort of dangers, and you're okay with sticking your neck out for him and his secret mission? You place quite a lot of trust in a man, who doesn't seem to do the same for you..." Taeyong spoke, the sentence sounding even worse out loud than in his head.

"Listen. We trust Jaehyun, all of us. He was chosen as captain for a reason, so why should we doubt him?" Kun said after finishing his food, crossing his arms over his chest as he raised an eyebrow at Taeyong.

"Because he's leading us to a place called the Blood Isles, and I haven't decided whether I like the sound of it or not!" Taeyong hissed, having silenced his voice as a few crew-members walked past them. Kun, who had poured himself more to drink and moved to take a new sip, stopped in his movements and stared at Taeyong.

"I don't care if you trust your captain enough to die for him, but I sure as hell don't. I'm gonna find out what we're after, and if I need to I'll find a way of this ship, too..." Taeyong spoke, the frown on his face increasing.

Kun only nodded perplexed, shoving his empty bowl aside before leaning toward Taeyong, arms resting on the table. "Alright, I'll admit that sounds a wee bit unnerving..." he looked around discreetly, before continuing.

"The only ones beside the captain and his brother to know about this true mission would probably be Ten, Yuta and Johnny. They're all a part of Jaehyun's circle of trust..."

Taeyong nodded, his gaze flickering to the silver-haired man who walked down the stairs to the dining area. "Alright, guess I'll ask one of them, then."

Kun snorted, clearly amused by the idea. He leaned back in his seat again, a grin still plastered on his face. "Didn't you just hear what I said? You'll never get out a secret from one of them. It's called a circle of trust for a reason, boy."

Taeyong pretended not to hear what the other said, gaze still subconsciously following Yuta's movements on the other side of the room.


	6. All fun and games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Liar's Dice:
> 
> The players throw the dice they have in a cup and hide the eye-pairs from other people's view by keeping the mug on top. The point is to lie about the amount of eyes on the dice. Let's say you throw 5 dice and 3 of them are two's. The player should be good enough to lie to convince his opponents that he has more 'twos' than he actually has. If he succeeds, the round goes on until someone doesn't believe the bids anymore and decides to expose the previous player. If the person who has lied gets caught, he looses. If the accuser is wrong, he looses. Usually, wager's are placed.

"You're actually insane, if you think you'll get an answer out of any of them..." Kun deadpanned, leaning back in against the table. Taeyong knew this, of course. He wasn't stupid. If you belonged to someone's inner-circle, you probably had killed for them to get in. Taeyong didn't doubt that for a second. Then he rolled his eyes, trying hard to muster up some kind of plan.

"Well, I don't see you coming up with better ideas either." Taeyong retorted still eyeing Yuta's, this time shirt-clad, back in the distance as the Japanese got himself supper before sitting down next to other crew-mates.

"Perhaps this isn't the best conversation to be had at the moment. People could be listening." Kun spoke silently, visibly jerking in surprise as a hand suddenly grasped his shoulder. 

"Listening to what?"

Both Taeyong and Kun had failed to hear the footsteps of the man that now stood there, infuriating smirk on his face again. Johnny's sudden presence behind Kun had startled Taeyong out of his thoughts, and he found himself struggling to come up with anything to say. Johnny wore his trademark smirk as he sat down on the bench next to the Chinese, challenging both of them with his intense stare.

Taeyong decided to just be silent and maintained his eye contact with the taller man. Looking away meant submission and/or that he was hiding something.

"I was just sharing some of my tricks to win Liar's Dice. Taeyong here has never played it in his life." Kun spoke, confident grin back on his face as he looked over to the Gunner, before taking a generous gulp of his drink into his mouth. Johnny looked back to Kun as he spoke, and Taeyong was silently grateful for it.

"Ah, a classic." Johnny spoke, sounding a little less on edge while finishing his drink, before slamming the empty cup down on the hard surface. "Care to share?"

Kun snorted out a soft laughter, "As if you need any tips on winning, anyway."

Johnny grinned, buffing his chest up and running a hand through his hair. "A few extra tips can't hurt my game, right?"

There was something childlike in the way Johnny's eyes observed Kun and him, and sometimes Taeyong had a hard time understanding how any of these men actually had such a foul reputation. 

"Let's play a batch, huh?" 

The tall man looked expectantly between the two of them, and neither of them found it a good idea to deny. It would seem too suspicious.

"Alright." Kun answered with a grin, mirroring the one Johnny now had back on.

Taeyong had never played this game before, but he had figured out how it's played since he had seen it so many times. It's all about how good of a liar you are.

"Mark! Bring the dice!"

The boy, who was in the middle of his meal, rolled his eyes but stood up non-the-less. He disappeared from the room for a moment to retrieve the dice, before returning. He gave Johnny the stink eye before slamming the cups and the dice down by his hands, receiving a feign smile of appreciation from the tall man.

"I'm not your mutt, Johnny." Mark spoke lowly, before turning on his heel and sulking back into his corner next to another young boy that Taeyong had only seen once before.

"Good dog." Johnny spoke, the younger boy's words not reaching his ears. Taeyong watched the exchange silently.

The taller placed three mugs on the table, one each for him, Kun and Taeyong and also 5 dice each. Taeyong chucked the dice into his mug before picking it up and shaking it. The other two mimicked his actions, before they slammed the cups down on the hard surface.

"Wagers?" Taeyong found himself asking. 

Johnny hummed, an amused grin on his lips as he looked over to the smaller man, "What can you offer, wonder boy?"

At this point a great number of the crew had gathered around them. It was always interesting to watch Johnny challenge a new player and hope that the outcome would be something other than Johnny winning.

"Not much, really." Taeyong responded. It was true. He didn't really have much, since his money had been stolen and he didn't carry too many possessions beside his knife and the silver ring decorating his little finger. He glanced down at it and rubbed its soft surface, deep in thought. It wasn't too valuable really, and didn't have too much of a meaning. He had found it years ago, not even remembering the location. He then pulled it off his finger and placed it on the table.

Johnny and Kun looked down at the shiny object, and Kun started fishing his back-pocket for something. Taeyong looked to Johnny. "What are you willing to bet against that?"

He didn't look like wore any jewellery of his own, part from the one earring that dangled in his right ear. Johnny was silent for a beat, before suddenly calling Ten over. The boy strode over, elegant as ever, stopping next to Johnny. "The necklace" He said, his voice surprisingly soft as he spoke with his lover. Ten frowned and placed his hand over his chest, gripping onto something small and sharp through his shirt.

"John..."

"You'll get it back, babe... I just need it for now." Johnny interrupted the frowning boy. He reached his hand up, beckoning the other to hand the object over. Ten was reluctant, but pulled the long chain over his neck and placed it into Johnny's awaiting palm. 

"Trust me." He spoke, assuring Ten with a soft glance, before turning back to Taeyong and placing the pendant on the table. It didn't look too special, really. A kind of wonky shape of a crescent moon, attached to a long silver chain.

Taeyong found it kind of douchy of Johnny to place a wager over an object that wasn't even his. But then again, he didn't really expect anything less from him. Ten seemed to think the same as he frowned at his lover's turned back, before lifting his gaze to Taeyong's. He squinted his eyes in a glare, forcing Taeyong to hold back the urge to roll his eyes.

Kun had placed small a sack of silver next to the other objects. Soon they started their game, agreeing on a "two out of three" game.

Taeyong lifted his cup slightly, seeing that he had thrown a two and four fours. He covered them soon after, glancing around the table at Kun and Johnny. Their neutral expressions mirrored his own, as they glanced up from their cups.

"Three twos" Kun started, giving the turn to Johnny who looked straight at Taeyong before saying,

"Three fives..."

Taeyong wanted to frown at the challenge in Johnny's eyes and the grin on his face directed at him. He was cocky and confident in his own game. Taeyong scoffed, managing a smirk of his own, before answering with a confident "Four fives" of his own.

Both Johnny and Kun looked at his face for any sign of a lie. Kun didn't seem to suspect anything, but Johnny studied his face for a while longer than the Chinese. Johnny was about to voice out his accusation, but before he could, Kun interrupted him.

"Five twos"

Taeyong looked at his friend, who was perfectly poker-faced. Something told Taeyong that he was lying trough his teeth though.

"Liar."

Both Johnny and Kun looked to him as he made his distrust clear. Johnny's grin hadn't faltered, and seemed to grow when Kun lifted his cup to reveal four threes and a five instead.

Kun sighed and Johnny praised the Korean man, impressed. "Well done, wonder boy. I was about to let him off that one." He grinned, shifting his eyes from Kun to Taeyong.

The latter didn't respond, he only kept eyeing Johnny.

The taller took the hint and returned to the game, snickering at Kun's silent cusses. He glanced down at his dice again, before returning a confident gaze to Taeyong's focused eyes. "Five fours", Johnny mimicked Taeyong's previous words, earning a few snickers from the crew surrounding them.

Taeyong remained calm, and decided to tell the truth this time. "Four fours"

"Liar." Johnny exclaimed confidently. Taeyong smirked as he lifted his cup to reveal his fours.

The game became gradually more nerve-wrecking, and the room was filled with a tense energy. Taeyong had even forgotten about his earlier talk with Kun, the game filling his head instead. One slip-up, and you're done.

Kun had lost two rounds and was out of the game, slightly sulking over his lost silver. Both Johnny and Taeyong had won once. On the last round the suspension in the room was high. 

Taeyong tried no to let the tension get to him, and hoped to catch Johnny slipping up in a lie.

"Four twos" Johnny spoke, him too trying not to get affected by the suspension. The deck was almost eerily silent, as the crew was watching their exchange in upmost interest.

Taeyong knew that him loosing wouldn't be the end of the world. Deep inside he knew. He just couldn't help the fact that he got overly competitive with people who were so sure of winning, like Johnny had been through the whole game.

He examined Johnny's face closely, but decided against accusing him now. He had proven to be a good liar, as good as Taeyong himself. It was really hard to tell if he indeed was bluffing.

Taeyong glanced down at his dice and tried not to ponder for too long over his decision.

"Five fours." He finally said, hoping that Johnny wouldn't believe him and call him a- 

"Liar."

"Johnny are you sure?..." Ten asked silently, really skeptic over the whole game. Taeyong didn't know why the smaller was so concerned. It was just a necklace after all. Surely, they would find greater treasure while plundering?

Johnny stared, challenging, at Taeyong who tried hard not to show the truth on his face. Taeyong lifted his cup slowly, reveling in how Johnny's cocky demeanor fell at the sight of his five fours.

The crew was equally shocked. Some of them cheered as they had bet on Taeyong to win, and others sighed in disappointment as their record holder lost for the first time. Taeyong let his grin grow. Look who's cocky now... 

Ten clicked his tongue and marched off, shoving his shoulder into those who stood in his way. Johnny kept staring at the dice on Taeyong's side, a mixture of awe and slight annoyance on his features.

"I can't believe you actually won!" Mark gaped, patting Taeyong affectionately on the shoulder. Taeyong managed a smile in response, before he collected his hard won price. He then stood up and looked at Johnny, who still sat there staring at the table.

"Good game, hotshot" Taeyong grinned, shoving the silver and the necklace into his pockets, before pushing his ring back onto his finger. He then excused himself from the table, rejecting the mugs of rum and "the witch potion", which Taeyong had dubbed the weird-tasting drink.

It was dark outside, when he climbed up on the main deck. The only lights where the starlight and the one's glowing through the small openings under the door to the captain's cabin and through the floor from the dining-deck. The captain must still be awake, Taeyong noted.

The night was calm and quiet, save for the sound of the waves and the chilly wind against his face. Taeyong took a large breath of air and moved up to the poop-deck, looking around for any sign of life. The only one there besides him was the helmsman, who kept his gaze on the waters before them, not minding Taeyong's sudden presence.

Taeyong leaned against the railing and closed his eyes. The fresh air after a storm was always crisper and cooler, and it calmed his nerves a bit.

To be honest, he was slightly worried about how well he seemed to fit the crew. He didn't mind working like he did, as he was on the open water and away from people who were probably currently searching for him to bring back to prison, as he was facing execution. The crew also hadn't paid him any extra mind, considering him as just another worker and they hadn't done anything too horrible yet. Taeyong knew it was only a matter of time before they had the chance to prove why they upheld such a terrifying reputation.

Would it be long before they reached their destination, and how many obstacles would they face on the way? Taeyong wanted answers to many of his questions. If he was sailing to an inevitable death, he would like to know of it in prior. Considering he just had escaped the clutches of death he had decided that he had a life worth living after all, no matter how lousy it seemed.

He looked back, as he heard footsteps behind him, only to notice a familiar figure standing on the other side of the deck with his back turned, arms resting over the railing like Taeyong's were.

Taeyong's hand fell down to his left pocket, where his fingers played with the silver pendant, before he pushed himself of the railing and moved over to Ten's sulking form.

Ten noticed a presence next to him, but chose to ignore it in favor of being left alone sooner. He didn't expect to see a familiar necklace swinging from side to side from the grip of lanky fingers that he it up at his eye-level. He sighed.

"If you're here to taunt me, you can swing that necklace overboard and yourself with it. I don't want it anymore." Ten spat. Taeyong wasn't surprised by the hostility of the other and shrugged. "If you say so," He loosened his grip on the chain slightly, giving the illusion of dropping it into the dark oblivion.

Ten jerked at that, reaching a hand over the railing to grab it "No-", before Taeyong quickly withdrew his hand back, amused by Ten's reaction. He found himself in an interesting situation. With the necklace he could try to bargain himself the information he needed.

Ten's frown deepened at the action and he opened his mouth to retort something, but Taeyong beat him to it.

"Relax. I have every intention of returning it, I only have some question's that need answering first..." For some reason, this necklace was far more precious to Ten, than anything else. Perhaps it had been a gift? Of a lost one. A friend. Taeyong didn't really care. He had learned that by only caring for himself, he would survive.

Ten snorted, an arrogant expression taking form on his prince-like features. He crossed his arms over his chest. "A week at sea, and you already think you have the power to demand something from someone like me... Don't make me laugh."

Taeyong responded with a grin and continued on, paying no heed to the discouraging words from the spitfire next to him. "I wanna know what we're after, and where these so called Blood Isles are located."

Ten didn't drop his unamused expression as he continued observing the other. "Neither of those things are really any business of yours, I'm afraid." He feigned a smile before turning back to face the sea. Taeyong didn't bother to hold back his eye-roll this time and leaned over the railing, trying to catch Ten's gaze in his.

"It is, if my life's on the line" Ten continued ignoring him and Taeyong sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. 

"Look, I just want to know if I'll make it back. I'd like to think I still have the chance to do something with my life if I ever got back." Taeyong tried appealing to the other's better nature, hoping to get some sympathy points, but it didn't seem to be working. Ten kept his mouth shut and his gaze locked away from the other to make a point.

"Fine..." he sighed, turning to move away from Ten to go to sleep. He'd figure something out. There were still three other people beside the captain he could try to coax out an answer from.

He walked off, going down the stairs he came from, twirling the pendant in his hands.

When morning came creeping, Taeyong had already been awake for hours. He hadn't really slept well, but that happened every once in a while. He got up once he heard the first of his crew-mates stirring in their sleep and went for the kitchen. He snatched his daily apple and went on deck. It was going to be a sunny day, much calmer and more quiet than the previous.

He gazed the pink horizon, where the orange sun was starting to peek, a content feeling settling over him. He could get used to mornings like these. After finishing his apple, he threw the rests into the sea and moved up to the bow of the ghostly ship, that didn't seem as abnormal in the daylight.

He greeted the few people that already were awake with a nod, and received tired grunts in return. Taeyong took notice of the broken bowsprit that was dragged in the water, almost going under. The ship hadn't, remarkably enough, lost any speed despite the slight hindrance. Still he wondered why they wouldn't have time to stop and try to fix it. It wouldn't take long, really. Why was captain Jaehyun so set on pushing on, when his own ship could get thoroughly damaged and thereby doom them all at sea?

Taeyong turned around, ready to start the days work to get his thoughts wandering, and bumped into a firm chest. The silver mane of the man glinted almost golden in the sunlight and his musky scent filled Taeyong's nostrils.

"Mornin', dollface"

Taeyong was too tired to take any of Yuta's shit right now. He would just get pissed of by his antics and have to restrain himself from pushing the other overboard or jumping in himself.

"Not now, Yuta..." he groaned, trying to push himself past the other, but his arm was caught in a tight grip and he was pulled back, his lower back facing the railing.

Yuta had a nasty grin as he pinned the other back to his place, and it widened slightly at the use of his name. He slightly eased his grip on the other's arm, but didn't let go completely. "What's this I hear about you blackmailing Ten? Talk about a pirate..." he spoke, raising an eyebrow, approval flashing in his storm-colored eyes.

Taeyong frowned slightly in confusion. He had been expecting some kind of pervy remark, or something like him asking Taeyong to do something for him again.

"What's it to you? I wasn't aware you were his second guard-dog." Taeyong spoke and snatched his hand from Yuta's grip, crossing his arms over his chest. He raised an eyebrow of his own, waiting for another snarky comment. He didn't expect an annoyed frown take place on the Japanese's features.

"I ain't nobody's bitch." Yuta spat.

Taeyong couldn't help his grin, happy that he struck a nerve. "Then what could you possibly want from me?" he asked. It wasn't unusual for Yuta to approach him randomly, but for the most part he was actually left alone. The Japanese only bothered him when he didn't have anything better on his mind or wasn't busy with any chores.

"I'll tell you what Jaehyun is after..." Yuta spoke after a while, his trademark grin back on his tanned face. Taeyong squinted his eyes at the other, but he let him speak.

"... If you let me have you, for a night." Taeyong didn't know why he expected anything other to come out of the man's unfiltered mouth, but ignored the words for now. He frowned deeper,

"How do you know what I want?" 

Yuta raised an eyebrow in amusement again and flicked his tongue over his teeth, "Word spreads fast here..." he spread his arms for emphasis "...After all, we're all in the same sinking boat here, aren't we?"

His voice turned a hint darker again, as he stepped back into Taeyong's space. He really thought of nothing else but where to stuff his cock?

Taeyong held his ground, leaning his weight on his feet while supporting his arms on the railing behind him.

"You're despicable." Taeyong said, venom lacing his voice, frowning at the thought of bending over to a man that looked at him like a piece of meat. The other had reached a calloused hand to touch Taeyong's face, but it was stopped by a firm grip around his wrist.

He wasn't going to lie. He knew that Yuta wanted him, and had thought about coaxing out an answer to his questions for a blowjob and nothing more. But he also had standards and an ego that wouldn't permit him to do anything as low as that.

"I know" was the answer that the other slithered back. Despite standing so close to Taeyong that the latter could feel the warmth radiating of his body, Yuta didn't make any more moves on the beauty. He rested his tongue between his teeth again, his ever so cocky demeanor becoming almost intoxicating to Taeyong.

The Korean huffed and pushed past the other, hitting his shoulder against the other in the process. This time, Yuta let the other leave, a tamed smirk tugging on his lips as he watched the other hurry off. 

As the day proceeded, Taeyong spent his time efficiently by working below deck, hiding from the burning sun. He swabbed 'til his arms started protesting, leaving the place of the prison-cells to the last. He kept working, moving from point A to point B in a steady pace, scrubbing the hard-worn floor. 

The sea was where he belonged, but it wouldn't kill him to admit that a day on land with proper company and booze would do him good to last for weeks.

He heard soft voices talking. He didn't need to guess twice to know who they were.

Mark was clearly taken by the sickness Taeyong liked to call 'love'. He was smitten by Izabel's exotic beauty, Taeyong could tell. He had seen Mark sneak of to the cells right after he had returned from his chat with Ten.

Taeyong was surprised to find the inkling of a smile on the girl's face, as she sat there with a cup of water in her hands, leaning against the wall. Mark sat across her, on a chair he had dragged from the corner, and spoke to her.

Taeyong decided not to break the fun for once, and told himself he would come back later. That, or Kun would do it for him.

When he returned his bucket and mop, a voice called out behind him.

"Oi! Dice guy!"

Taeyong sighed, turning around to face a boy around his age. He was leaning of the ladder, ready to go back up soon. "Get to the cargo-hold and bring up a barrel of powder. Johnny's orders."

Taeyong could have guessed it. Johnny was salty over losing the game last night, so he Taeyong do part of his job for him. Taeyong also noticed earlier that morning that Ten was pissed off, directing his anger mostly on Johnny.

Taeyong nodded, a soft 'aye' leaving his lips in a sigh as he forced himself down to the lowest and darkest part of the ship.

Where he failed to hear the words "Sails ahead!" from on top of the main mast.


	7. A reputation to Uphold, part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for violence, blood and death. Proceed at caution!

"Sails ahead!"

The shout made Jung Jaehyun look up from the charts in front of him to the horizon ahead. He squinted as he tried to spot the size and origin of the vessel, but couldn't see anything but a splotch of white in the distance, due to the blinding sunlight.

"Colours?" He asked Jeno who stood next to him gazing into the wooden monocular. His brother frowned, squinting his one open eye into the monocular to catch a better glimpse.

"English flag..." his younger brother muttered, lowering the item from his face. Jaehyun grabbed it from him and took a look for himself.

"It's approaching, sir." Another voice announced.

"Shit..." was the only thing Jaehyun managed to say, contemplating their options.

Jaehyun lowered the monocular, running a calloused hand through his dirty hair. They could fight and thereby waste blood. They could also turn around and go a further way. Either of those options would prove to waste time they didn't have. 

"Orders, sir?" Yuta inquired, ready to unsheathe his sword.

Jaehyun pondered. His men were itching for a fight, he knew. They had spent a while at sea without anything special happening. He himself was starting to get a little restless. It could be nice to get the chance to blow off some steam on the English scum.

He squinted at the horizon again, the white sails growing ever so bigger. Then he glanced at his crew, all anticipating an answer out of their captain. 

The English ship was almost upon them. Jaehyun could hear voices of the sailors aboard the giant vessel. He peered through the monocular again to see what the men were up to. They weren't preparing to fight - they weren't rushing around like a flock of hens ready to go to battle-stations. They were preparing to come aboard. They seemed to have a matter of importance to discuss. Jaehyun figured it would be wise to not start firing. Yet...

"Lower the anchor! Prepare to be boarded!" his baritone echoed over the ship. The crew murmured to themselves, but did as they were told non-the-less. 

Meanwhile:

"Stupid fucking Johnny Seo and his stupid fucking ego... Doesn't have the balls to come down here himself to tell me what to do... No wonder Ten is mad all the time..." Taeyong swore, trying to push the heavy barrel up the steep ladders. Why did the cargo-hold have to be all the way on the lowest level of this giant, godforsaken ship? Taeyong hadn't counted, but he guessed that he had been struggling for about 10 minutes, trying to get the barrel up all while trying to maintain his own balance on these cursed ladders.

He wasn't weak, per say. He just wasn't all too muscly either, despite his experience in hard work. To be fair, it wasn't his job to drag this barrel all the way upstairs either, so he wasn't to blame for the struggle.

He cursed, feeling his foot slip out of its poor stance, while trying to hold the barrel back so it wouldn't fall on him and break his bones. "Whoa-". He managed to regain his balance, and was soon pushing upward again.

A good while later, he managed to get back up to the kitchen-deck. One ladder left... he sighed, dragging a hand out of frustration down his sweaty face. He kicked the barrel out of frustration, sending a jolt of pain through his nervous-system.

Here he was working his ass off, while the rest of the crew were up on deck, relaxing and lazing in the sun. By the sound of it at least. He cursed loudly at the pain, getting only more frustrated. The next time he saw Johnny, he'd make him lose more than just a stupid game (that he had won fair and square!).

He wiped his brow and listened to the waves, trying to calm down. He heard how they spalshed against the wood and felt them rocking the ship as he closed his eyes. He heard voices and footsteps above, retreating further away from him. Both voices were familiar, even though he had barely heard the other one of them before. Jaehyun and Johnny were talking in hushed voices.

"Hold on..." he mumbled to himself, opening his eyes in realization. The deck was never this silent. The crew would not shut their mouths simultaneously just like that, even if they were getting paid for it. And Jaehyun didn't just happen to stroll down his decks whenever, especially daytime. He'd spend his hours in his cabin, or up by the wheel cursing at Jeno about their mission.

Something wasn't right.

Taeyong left the barrel where it stood and retreated to the rear end of the ship. Unlike other ships he had ever sailed on, he knew that this one had an extra pair of ladders that led directly up to the entrance to the captain's cabin. Probably because the captain was a lazy dick who didn't feel like walking the 20 extra steps it would take him to get down to the lower decks. He could sneak up there and check the situation out. He reached the ladders and started climbing them, staying low on the ground as he reached the top.

The first thing he saw as he came up was a set of giant white sails. The next thing he saw was the red uniforms of English sailors, and the pointy hat that belonged to their captain, who was currently busy exchanging steely glares with captain Jaehyun. The latter was standing with his men down on the deck with his hands crossed over his chest, watching and waiting. He reminded Taeyong of a tiger, keeping his guard up and ready to pounce on it's prey.

The English captain said something in an equally hushed voice to one of his men, before returning his gaze to his foe.

"Well... If it isn't the notorious captain Jung himself!" The English captain exclaimed, one hand resting on the handle of his sword, as he walked over the plank to the pirate ship, followed by two other men.

Taeyong frowned, wondering over what business could be so important for the English to not just sink their ship and be on their way, like they would usually be doing.

Jaehyun didn't respond and maintained eye-contact with the other, inhaling sharply as the polished shoes of the three English men touched his ship. He shared a quick look with Johnny, before giving the English captain his attention again.

"What does a sailor from a land half a world away want from me?" Jaehyun spoke in English, feigning a polite smile. The red coated captain responded with a mirrored expression and looked around the ship. "The Royal Navy is everywhere. The king will want supervision everywhere over his growing empire..." he said, taking a step toward Jaehyun.

"I have a proposition to offer, if you would be willing to listen..." the man spoke after a while, looking back into Jaehyun's whiskey colored eyes.

Jaehyun eyed the red coats aboard his ship and those aboard their own. He felt his head ticking at the thought of losing valuable time, but the curious side of him couldn't help but be awoken at the other captain's words.

He nodded slowly, moving to lead the way to his cabin. "Stand down." He commanded his crew, knowing that they would love any chance they'd get to nail their enemy's guts to the mast. He also knew that they'd get the chance to, if he signaled to Johnny.

Taeyong panicked slightly, noting that Jaehyun and the Englishmen were making their way straight towards him. He decided quickly, crawling towards the wooden doors to the cabin and opened one, before slinking inside.

The room wasn't as luxurious as Taeyong had imagined it to be. A plain wooden desk was situated in the left corner of the cabin. A lot of books and papers were placed on top of it, with a half-burned candle and whatever else you could imagine yourself finding on a pirate captain's desk.

A bed was situated on the desk's opposite side. There were a couple of bookshelves, and something Taeyong found out to be a closet when he rushed to hide inside it. He heard the footsteps coming closer, and tried to calm his breath down so he wouldn't be found.

The doors to the cabin opened. Jaehyun was holding the doors open for his 'guests' before stepping inside, graciously making his way for his desk. He didn't bother with finding a chair for the other captain. He could stand on his legs just fine.

"I noticed your bowsprit has taken quite the toll. How on earth did you manage that?" The English captain spoke, curiosity coating his voice.

Jaehyun wasn't in the mood for small-talk, though.

"What do you want?" He spoke instead, keeping a keen eye on the three strangers in his quarters. The two sailors that had accompanied their captain were both holding rifles, eyes locked forward, waiting for their captain's command.

The captain looked to be about his age or maybe a decade older. It was hard to tell, but that was the least of Jaehyun's concerns. The said man raised an eyebrow at his question, the faked smile on his face gone in a small moment.

"I want you to give up the coordinates to the treasure you're after. And the assassin that, rumor has it, was smuggled aboard your ship on the eve of his execution."

Taeyong suppressed a surprised sigh, overhearing the conversation. Jaehyun was after some kind of treasure? And England was looking for him? Both of these facts were a little shocking, but he had almost expected as much. He should have expected that their good captain is after gold, like the pirate he is. He also should have expected that there would be a small price on his head. Apparently, Dukes clearly have a greater stand in the hierarchy than he could have guessed.

Jaehyun exhaled through his nose softly, an amused snicker escaping his scarred lips. He didn't have any idea about any smuggled assassins aboard his ship.

"And what will I get in return?" he asked, playing along. His fingers itched for the gun he had hidden in his boot, but he restrained himself, waiting for the right moment. It was a risk, taking on three armed men by himself, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

"Your freedom." 

Jaehyun snorted at the European man's stoic expression and unfaltering voice, running his tongue against the inside of his cheek. He smiled raising a scarred eyebrow at the other as he spoke, kindness the furthest away from his face,

"I'm a free man already. You've gotta try a little harder than that, mate."

The red coated captain hummed and started pacing back and forth on the deck. He looked amused. Jaehyun contemplated the various ways he would run a weapon through him.

"Do you know how big of a reward I'm willing to give up by letting you, England's most wanted pirate and his crew, go instead of turning you in or killing you myself?" He stopped pacing, stopping right in front of Jaehyun. He rested his hands on the desk and leaned forward.

Jaehyun held eye-contact with the man who was currently invading his personal space. His knuckles turned white under the table as he tightened his grip on the arms of his chair.

"One small enough not to matter, apparently, if you're the one reaching the treasure first... How could you even know about the treasure, if you don't even know where you should find it?" Jaehyun responded coolly, eyes detecting movement behind the other men. A door on his closet had been inched open.

"That treasure belongs to the King and thereby the British Empire, not some filthy sea-rats aboard a cursed vessel!" The captain spat, gradually losing his earlier facade of calm and collected.

"Careful..." Jaehyun warned, silky voice laced with venom. He eyed the captain, thinking of ways to hold the three men's attention, just long enough so his hidden crew member could slink out of his hiding spot and slit their throats.

Taeyong noticed the quick yet meaning gaze that the captain sent his way and understood what to do. He gripped the handle of his pocketknife tighter, ready to sneak out. He pushed the door slightly more open and stepped out, quiet as a mouse.

"You and I are a lot alike, captain." Jaehyun spoke, leaning forward in his seat to get closer to the English man who scoffed, offended by the remark.

"We're nothing alike..." he growled and leaned away, losing more of his temper. Jaehyun grinned at the reaction, casually moving his hand down to his left leg, where he knew he had a knife of his own. The movement went unnoticed by the foe.

"Are you sure? You come here, threaten me and my crew on my ship, offer me terms of a deal that isn't in any way beneficial for me, and you insult me. The only difference between us, is that you work for a crown that is as greedy as me, while I am free to make my own choices." Jaehyun responded, smirk growing as the others face fell angrier. 

The captain unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Jaehyun, a little too close to his one good eye. Jaehyun didn't flinch.

"Tell me. Do you really think you'd get a share of 'your kings' treasure? Hmm?"

The captain was about to retort but got distracted as he heard a thump behind him, the spasming body of his crewmember falling to the ground with a gurgling sound as he gripped his bleeding throat.

The distraction was just enough for Jaehyun to push his desk over to attack the other one with the rifle, who was caught of guard by the sudden death of his comrade. He fought the weapon off of him, pushing him face first against the floor, before slicing a deep wound into his throat.

Meanwhile, Taeyong was busy avoiding the English captain's sword, while trying to get a shot at him with his noticeably smaller weapon. He held his ground long enough for Jaehyun to sweep in to help him, jamming his sword right through his back. 

The captain groaned in pain as Jaehyun twisted the weapon in a way that even made Taeyong wince. 

"In case you didn't notice, I'm declining your offer." Jaehyun grinned into the others ear, pearly whites glistening with a red substance as he had taken a few punches to the face by the other guard.

He then pulled his sword out and used it to cut the others throat for good measure.

Taeyong was panting for breath, feeling the adrenaline course through him in a rush. He looked at the other, who was more or less feeling the same.

"What was your name again, sailor?" the scarred man asked him. Taeyong wasn't surprised that the man hadn't remembered his name. He had dozens of sailors under his command, anyway.

"It's Taeyong..." he responded, wiping his knife on the legs of his pants.

"You alright, Taeyong?" the captain continued. Taeyong nodded, checking his body for any flesh-wounds. He seemed to be alright for now.

"You?" he returned the question. They were both covered in blood, either their own or their fallen enemy's.

Jaehyun nodded, drying his face with the sleeve of his shirt, like the only thing he had just done was run around. How he managed to look so collected, despite covered in crimson and a sword to his face just a few seconds ago, Taeyong couldn't understand.

"I've had far worse." The other spoke, and Taeyong realized he must be talking about the giant scar across his face. He nodded at that, not sure what to respond to that.

After collecting themselves for a few more seconds, Taeyong was the first one to speak up. He looked to the other, all previous feelings of intimidation gone.

"What now?"

Jaehyun dried his sword on the body of one of the men, before bending down to grab one of their weapons. He grabbed the silver sword from the captain's stiff hand before handing it to Taeyong.

"You're gonna need this..."


	8. A reputation to Uphold, part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for blood, gore, violence, death. Proceed with caution!

Jaehyun had been surprised at the fact that it had been the new boy in his crew that had sneaked into his cabin and helped him get rid of the Englishmen. He was more pleasantly surprised to find that he wasn't scared of getting blood on his hands, like men usually could be. They were all talk but no action. Jaehyun was proud that his crew consisted of the opposite kind.

He was less pleased with the fact that yet another person now knew of their endeavor. It was important for it to stay secret, considering that it wouldn't be easy to get where they were headed and many would probably try to stop him. To get what he wanted required sacrifices.  
Jaehyun told himself to somehow get Taeyong to forget about what he heard in here.

This brought him to another dilemma; how did the Englishmen know where they were headed? Since he had sworn Johnny, Yuta, Ten and Jeno to secrecy about it, no one outside this ship should have known. Which led to the fact that he had a spy among his crew...

"So, what's the plan?" Taeyong interrupted the captain's train of thought, grasping the silver weapon in his hand. He glanced up at the captain after inspecting his sword and noticed that the other was gripping his sword tightly, his knuckles turning white, while in deep thought. Taeyong took the opportunity to study the other closer. 

Jaehyun was nice to look at, that was a given. He had a sturdy form and handsome facial features, scars and all. But he was also deadly, like the name of his ship insinuated. Captain Jaehyun actually reminded him of a viper - at first glance one could mistake the snake for a regular one, but in the second you let your guard down, the venomous reptile breaks your skin with it's teeth. Taeyong still saw the image of Jaehyun's sadistic grin as he twisted his sword into the other man's guts. He enjoyed killing.

Taeyong looked at the other, who was still in deep thought, while trying to think of a plan. Would it be better to burst out guns blazing, or should they handle the situation with more care?

The clicking of a hand-gun brought Taeyong back to it, and he realized Jaehyun was checking his gun for powder. "I don't know about you, Taeyong, but that man made me very irritated and now I need something to release my anger on.." he grinned, moving to the cabin doors.

'Guns blazing then, I guess...' Taeyong thought. He wasn't one who enjoyed killing, but in the defense of his life he had no problems with it.

He gripped his sword, noticing he was quite nervous. It had been a while since he last had enjoyed a good sparring session, let alone a real fight. He nodded at the silent 'are you ready?' question Jaehyun's eyes conveyed, before the doors were pushed open and Taeyong heard Jaehyun's loud command of "Fire!".  
The crew reciprocated with loud screams, and the echoing commands of 'Fire' was all Taeyong could register before the sound of battle filled his head.

Somehow, they had managed to catch the English of guard, since it took them a while to respond to their attack. The deafening cannon-fire dragged Taeyong's fight of flight instincts from the depths of him, and he scrambled off his feet where he had stopped when Jaehyun barged the doors open. 

Both crews made their ways over to their opponent's ships, swords in their hands and war-cries in their throats.

Taeyong made his way down to the deck after Jaehyun, who was in the middle of a 2 against 1 fight. He didn't have time to gaze at the crew for a moment longer, as he spotted a red coat charging at his direction, sword pointed dangerously at him.

Taeyong blocked the charge, a bit rusty in his movements, and proceeded a counter attack. The Englishman was trained and fought skillfully, so it took a while for Taeyong to cut him down with his sword through his stomach.

The nervousness he had felt previously was gone. Feeling the adrenaline course through him, he felt amped-up and confident instead as he charged head on at a red coated man who was busy dueling one of his crew mates. 

Close to him, Mark was in trouble. The boy was surrounded by two of the enemy men, both attacking at once with the purpose to tire him out and kill him easier. Once he had the chance, Taeyong plunged a sword through one of them, reminiscent to the way Jaehyun had done to their captain a few minutes prior.

Once they were taken care of, Taeyong looked to Mark. "Are you okay?"

The boy nodded, but clutched onto a wound he had received at the back of his neck. "Thanks for that." He was panting. Both of them were. Taeyong felt the sweat on his face blend with the cut on his cheek making it sting, but said nothing. It was just a scratch anyway. Their rest was cut short as another pair of Englishmen charged their way.

As he was busy fighting of the man, who had managed to slice him in the cheek, he detected the sight of silver hair and a bloodied sword. Next thing he knew, the Englishman crumbled to the ground in a pained grunt and he shared an acknowledging nod with Yuta, before both of them along with Mark scurried off to take care of the rest.

There weren't many left now. 

Taeyong managed a look around and noticed that they were clearly winning. It was either because the Englishmen sucked at what they were doing, or Jaehyun's crew was really, really good. He decided on the latter.

A great amount of their crew was aboard the other ship, slicing throats and spilling guts. Taeyong was surprised that none of them doubled over to vomit at the revolting sight. It was enough to even make him shiver a bit.

When the last man was down, Taeyong let himself relax slightly. His lungs were on fire and his muscles ached. He had a few wounds here and there, but nothing he couldn't handle.

He could head Jaehyun's voice ordering the crew to search the ship for any survivors. Other than that, no one really said anything. Maybe they didn't need to either. What do you say after gutting enemy men and leaving their bodies empty and lifeless?

He looked around. As far as his eyes could see, their crew hadn't suffered any fatalities. The ship seemed to be mostly okay as well. A few more cannon-holes to the sails hardly did anything for them, considering how big the sails were. Bits and parts from the railings were missing as well, and Taeyong could bet that the side of the ship had suffered a bit of damage as well, but it wasn't anything they couldn't repair. 

He bent down to wipe his sword on a corpse laying near him before he sheathed the weapon and gripped the body, on his way to drag it to the side of the ship so he could chuck it over. The seagulls and predator-fish would have something to feast on for a day or two.

"Cut the head off, before you throw it over."

A voice ordered, stopping Taeyong in his tracks. What's the difference? It's not like this guy was alive anymore.

"Why?" he questioned, but it fell on deaf ears as Jaehyun's baritone echoed over to them from the other ship. "Gentlemen. Get to work." Followed by a nasty grin. The same one Taeyong had seen earlier in his cabin.

A choir of spiteful laughter echoed as an answer but Taeyong only stood in place, curious of what would happen next.

-

If it wasn't clear by the fact that they were pirates or the way they fought bloody and dirty whilst not losing any of their own crew, it certainly was clear by this.

The English ship's masts were cut down making it easier to see the bloodstained deck, and the heads that had been mounted up on the swords that were forcefully stuck into the deck.

Taeyong felt a slight bit of nausea. He had never encountered something so immoral in his life, and he had seen some shit. He even saw Mark and Kun chopping of a head or two. Some even gathered the intestines from a few bodies and hanged them over the railings. The English captain had the honor of replacing the figurehead at the front of the ship.

Taeyong could only stand there, appalled by what they had done, while slowly but surely realizing the foul truth of Jung Jaehyun and his henchmen. 


	9. A mole in our midst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I hope your holidays are joyful and that you stay safe!
> 
> Mentions of violence!!!

That very same night Taeyong was summoned into Jaehyun's quarters, mop and bucket of water in his hand. He had a hunch that there was something more than swabbing the blood-stained floor to it. Being the good deckhand he was, he followed the order, albeit a bit begrudgingly. 

Something in his stomach had stirred from the fight they had earlier. He wasn't troubled by all the killing that took place, as he was part of it himself. It was the display of terror that had occurred afterward that was troubling him. Friend or foe, the dead should be respected and not toyed around with like mannequins. He shuddered at the memory of a decapitated head that had the look of horror frozen in its eyes. He blinked and shook his head to erase his head of those haunting images, repressing them to the darkest corners of his mind.

The evening was cold and the wind was hard in their sails, a crescent moon lit up their voyage. Soon after their battle, Jaehyun had ordered for full speed, and none of the men would get to rest before the ship went as fast as it had never before.

Taeyong's face glowed from the yellow candle light that illuminated through the windows in the cabin doors. He took a shuddering breath, not sure if it was from the cold or the fact that he had to face a cold-blooded killer alone for the second time tonight. Then again, Taeyong was no better. He had taken part in the killing just as much as the next man on this ship. 

He knocked two times on the door, the glass vibrating from the soft impact. A few seconds passed by and Taeyong was sure that the captain had forgotten all about his order and fallen asleep. The thought somehow brought comfort to Taeyong, who always felt so little in the other man's presence.

"Come in" Taeyong heard the brumming voice of his captain and took a breath before putting on a stoic face and stepping inside.

The room looked all the same. The bodies were long gone, but the giant blood-stains remained to tell of what had happened earlier. Taeyong's eyes wandered to Jaehyun. He sat by the desk, gaze glued to a journal and a quill in hand. The candle-light danced on his scarred features, and his fringe was falling down over his forehead.

Taeyong cleared his throat softly, making the other man lift his head up, before speaking, "You wanted to see me, sir?". Jaehyun's eyes locked with his wide ones.

For his whole life, Taeyong had fended for himself. The years on the streets had made him tough, and there was little that scared him. Yet Jaehyun's simple demeanor managed to make Taeyong feel naked under his gaze. He wasn't afraid per say. Jaehyun just had that aura around him that made you want to stay on your guard.

"Taeyong. Good, " He spoke, before looking down again and dipping his quill in the half-empty ink bottle. Not once did his expression change. "The floor needs swabbing." 

He didn't say anything more than that, and Taeyong had to force himself to remember that the captains orders had to be followed, no matter how arrogant he sounded. He wouldn't have minded if he had asked him in a little nicer tone, though. He placed the bucket down and wet his mop in the musky water before moving towards Jaehyun's desk. Taeyong didn't really feel like talking, not that he ever was the talkative type. He just wanted to get some rest, away from everyone.

The blood had dried as it had been there for a few hours, so it was particularly nasty to try to get out. Taeyong knew that it would stain the floor forever, no matter how many times he rubbed it.

"I gonna need you to do something for me, Taeyong." Jaehyun suddenly spoke, interrupting the wet sound of the soaked mop scrubbing against the hard floor. Taeyong looked at the other, who hadn't lifted his head up from his journal. He paused in his movements for a while, waiting for the other to elaborate. He tried to ignore the way the hair on his neck raised when the captain said his name. 

Jaehyun looked up at the other when he didn't speak up, holding the gaze of the smaller boy. Taeyong broke eye contact pretty quickly and resumed to what he was doing.

While Taeyong continued swabbing, he cleared his throat softly before he spoke. He had that weird bubble in his throat again.

"Sir?"

The captain eyed him for a little while, but for Taeyong it felt like minutes. Jaehyun radiated dominance and his presence commanded respect. Taeyong felt so small again.

Jaehyun stood up and walked around the desk slowly, crossing his arms over his chest when he came to stand next to Taeyong, leaning his weight against his desk. "What you heard in here today was classified information. Only a few of my most trusted men know what our true mission is..." 

Taeyong glanced at the other quickly. Jaehyun's was there, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. Taeyong cursed under his breath when the blood didn't let go of it's tight hold on the wooden surface.

"... There's a spy among my men, and I want to know who it is. I need your help for it."

Taeyong didn't expect that a man like Jaehyun would ask him for help. He could find out himself, right?

"Why me, sir?"

Jaehyun finally looked up. Taeyong couldn't pinpoint the expression on his face. 

"Because much to my dismay, you've dragged yourself into this."

Taeyong inhaled and stopped in his movements, looking back into the other's eyes unamused. "Beg your pardon, sir, but it is hardly my fault that I happened to be the one saving your neck!" Taeyong almost spat. The instance the words left his mouth, he regretted it.

He was tired, so tired. He decided to blame his sudden outburst on that. The fact that he had lost what little respect he seemed to have grown for the captain was also a huge benefactor.

Jaehyun didn't seem too amused about it either. He kept quiet and ran his tongue along his front teeth as he eyed him.

Taeyong felt like a dog getting scolded by his mere gaze. He looked down at his feet, but lifted his gaze quickly when he realized he heard a low chuckle.

"You think I needed saving?"

Taeyong didn't like the cocky way he spoke. It reminded him of Yuta. 

"Having a sword to your face and two other armed men in the same room with you is hardly what I would call a fair game..." Taeyong spoke, his submissiveness fading slowly as he looked back into the other's scarred gaze. Jaehyun leaned forward, tongue running up the inside of his cheek in amusement,

"Not for them, no..."

He spoke softly. Then he pushed himself of the desk and walked around Taeyong, continuing as if Taeyong hadn't just disrespected him with his way of speaking. Taeyong knew of many captain's that would have punished him for that.

"It was a chance for you to show me your worth. I can't have pussies in my crew, now can I?" Taeyong was yet again reminded of a viper as the taller man circled around him, his tone somehow amused.

Jaehyun eyed his form silently, mulling over something. Taeyong wasn't sure, but he thought he detected some kind of approval in the other man's eyes, even if it was for just a few moments. 

Then Jaehyun walked back to his seat behind the desk, sitting down with his legs spread like he owned the place, which he did. He was silent for a few beats. Taeyong was soon finished scrubbing, and tried to ignore the intense eyes of the other on him.

"I can't go ask Johnny or Yuta to do this for me, if they're the one's behind the problem..." he was back to the original topic, and Taeyong scolded himself for hoping that Jaehyun would actually compliment him for his actions today.

Taeyong sighed, seeing Jaehyun's point. He also realized that he was perfect for the job considering that he was the newest face among the crew, so the others wouldn't right away suspect him for, deliberately, snooping around.

"Fine. I'll do it."

If Jaehyun had anticipated his answer, he didn't show it on his face. He only nodded and went back to writing. Taeyong expected something more, but when Jaehyun made no moves to speak or stand up, he quickly finished up his job and moved towards the door without a word.

Reaching for the handle, he stopped at the baritone voice speaking,

"Tell a soul of this, and I'll cut your liver out and feed it to our fair maiden downstairs..."

He didn't know if he shivered from the words or the way he spoke them but he ignored the feeling creeping up on his back in favor of leaving quickly, feeling a scarred gaze burn at the back of his neck as he nodded and grabbed the handle to get out of the warm room.

"How are you feeling?" Taeyong's voice was raspy from the dry air down by the cells, and he suppressed a shiver as he felt the wind blowing through a giant whole behind him, courtesy of the English cannon fire.

Izabel shivered a bit from the same wind and pulled a dark green blanket tighter around her form. He knew Mark must have had something to do with it. She was silently munching away on the fruit Taeyong had brought her, staring at something by his feet. She didn't answer his question, and Taeyong understood she must still be hurt by his neglect.

It's not like they knew each other well, or at all really, but having been cellmates for twelve hours must have counted for something. They had both been dragged off on this voyage against their will. They had something in common, at the least. That being said, he did feel a little guilty for not paying her more attention. She was forced to sit here every day, freezing and fearing for when the next attempt on her would take place.

She was finishing up her fruit and tossed the remains through two bars a little to Taeyong's left. Taeyong noticed that her features looked colder than they had when he first met her. Her eyes conveyed little to no emotion, and her jaw was set. Taeyong knew he had to say something, he just didn't know what. Nothing could console her anyway.

"Listen... I'm sorry for not being able to help you, or even trying for that matter..."

Her eyes moved to his face, searching for sincerity in his downcast eyes. Taeyong didn't explain himself any further, because he had no excuses for his actions. He had focused on himself first, like he always did. Like he had taught himself to do. Tending to other people's needs didn't come second nature to him.

"That Mark boy, he seems nice..." Taeyong spoke after a while, noticing her expression soften ever just a little.

"He helps..."

Taeyong nodded along, waiting for her to continue. She hadn't shown anything but passive-aggressiveness towards him for the whole voyage, despite accepting the fruit he had brought her.

"He keeps me company and brings me food. He protects me from the other's..." She mumbled the last part. Taeyong was happy that the girl had at least someone to count on, even if Mark was only a boy. They were probably the same age, Mark and Izabel, now that he came to think of it. Maybe that was one reason why they got along well.

"He's a nice kid." Taeyong admitted, smiling softly at the fact that Mark was such a romanticist underneath all that wannabe tough exterior.

"Oh, you're here, Taeyong.." As if summoned, the boy walked in, holding two steaming bowls of stew in his hands.

Both Taeyong and Izabel whipped their heads around as Mark made his presence known. "They're serving food now." Mark spoke while approaching Taeyong, who took this as his cue to leave. He stood up from the chair that Mark had left there many nights prior and let the younger boy take his place there after handing Izabel the other bowl.

Taeyong noticed the way their fingers touched and lingered as the girl took the bowl from his awaiting hand. He didn't know much of love or what it looked like, but he guessed that it started like this - lingering touches and soft smiles. He turned to leave, feeling like an intruder.

He moved to the kitchen and retrieved his share of the meal, before sitting down on the only vacant seat next across from Johnny.

The taller man didn't acknowledge his presence with anything more that a swift glance, as he shoveled the food down his throat. Taeyong started eating in silence, noticing that Ten was nowhere to be seen. The lovers were usually conjoined at the hip, so it was weird for Taeyong not to have the snarky yet clever comments directed at someone or something, or the charged energy that filled the room whenever the two of them looked at each other.

Taeyong reached for the small item in his pocket and presented it to the other, who paused in his movements as his eyes followed the swinging motion of the moon pendant at his eye level. Then he gave Taeyong a look.

"For the record, this is not a consolation price for losing nor is it because I feel bad for you or your grumpy boy. It's so that I don't have to force a heavy fucking barrel all the way up those ladders ever again..." he let go of the pendant as Johnny placed his open palm to receive it.

What could have been something akin to gratitude in Johnny's eyes was quickly replaced by a raised brow. "You could have just tied a rope around it to lift it up. You knew that right?" the Gunner spoke, tucking the pendant into the safety of his pocket.

Taeyong then realized how brilliant that was, and how much time and energy he could have saved by using the brain he had been blessed with. Not that he'd ever admit that to Johnny. Never.

Johnny's grin widened, as if he could see the cogwheels in Taeyong's head turning, processing this newfound information. Taeyong looked back to his food and reluctantly took a bite out of something that looked like it didn't belong in stew.

"Shut up."


	10. What to do...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taeyong faces a problem. Johnny and Ten love each other a bit too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the month long wait!

Taeyong wasn't ashamed to admit it - spying for a spy in a crew of murderers was by far the hardest thing Taeyong had ever done. It wasn't easy to find a suspect, not when each and every one of Jaehyun's men were either too caught up in their work to do anything worthy of suspicion, or sleeping.

How could he, someone who's been part of this crew for only a few weeks, know who was acting like they belonged and who didn't? 

Taking to heart Jaehyun's threat, Taeyong had even decided to withhold this information from Kun, who still would open up the matter of 'the Blood Isles' from time to time. He was grateful for the, what Kun thought would be, useful information he had gathered and pretended to contemplate on it while making ideas, before quickly shutting the subject down again.

He was sure to keep busy during the days, working and listening for anything weird, then quickly eating and going to bed to avoid anyone. If he wasn't starting to hear or see something suspicious soon, Taeyong would have to engage closer with the crew - this included Ten, Johnny, Jeno and Yuta. The crew he could handle just fine. He just wasn't feeling up for any shenanigans, which were bound to happen with the Japanese man. Perhaps Johnny and Ten. No, scratch that. Ten would definitely attack him with verbal abuse, considering they weren't on the best of terms.

"So, have you considered my offer?" Yuta spoke from behind Taeyong as he approached the working Korean boy.

Taeyong frowned in thought while opening the knot to a rope. "What offer?"

He stilled as he felt a hands on his hips and warm breath on his neck. "Go bother someone else, Yuta..." he groaned

"You really want me to repeat it?" Yuta spoke, ignoring the other's plea. Taeyong could hear the grin on the others face even though he didn't see it. As an emphasis to what he said, he pushed his crotch against Taeyong's clothed ass. Taeyong knew right away what the man was referring to, letting the rope in his hands go and turning around in the other's grip. He didn't pull away.

"And here I thought you'd actually be a decent guy..." Taeyong spoke in honesty, mostly to himself. He had really. When they had fought the Englishmen, and Yuta had helped Taeyong cut down one who attacked him, Taeyong had actually thought that this guy could be nice, even while gutting their enemies.

Yuta grinned, letting his eyes roam the other's face. Taeyong wasn't acting his usual cold self towards him. He examined him for anything else abnormal.

"You're really adamant about fucking me, aren't you?" Taeyong spoke then with a grin bordering on fascination, demeanor switching as if someone had pushed a button, as he squinted his eyes at Yuta. The Japanese looked far too pleased with himself for someone who had been turned down multiple times.

"Aye..."

Taeyong smirked at this, playing along. He leaned closer to the other, holding eye contact while slowly reaching into the side pocket of his pants to grip at a small pocket knife.

"Let me tell you something..." He grabbed the knife and brought it up to Yuta's line of sight. The silver haired didn't falter, his smirk staying amused and eyes looking into Taeyong's with interest. Taeyong brought the edge of the knife down Yuta's chest. He didn't use any pressure, just let the blade of the knife trail down his abdomen like a feather. Then he stopped, letting the sharp side of the blade rest up against Yuta's clothed dick, adding a slight amount of pressure. Only then did Yuta inhale a shuddering breath, the prospect of the knife cutting into his manhood more terrifying than having Taeyong cut his beating heart out of his chest.

"You'll never get the chance. I suggest you back off." Taeyong spoke nonchalantly, cocking an eyebrow and gazing at Yuta through his eyelashes.

Yuta ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek silently, mimicking the raised eyebrow. Then he flashed a nasty grin,

"You just turned me on."

Taeyong responded with a smirk of his own and leaned forward. Their lips were inches away from each other, but Taeyong had his gaze up in Yuta's eyes, whereas Yuta's had flashed down to his lips while swiftly wetting his own. 

Taeyong didn't know why, but he admitted that he enjoyed teasing the other. Maybe it was the fact that he had a handsome, not that would ever admit it out loud, and strong man at his feet, or the fact that he hadn't gotten laid in a long while and this was the closest he could get to the fact.

"Move." Taeyong spoke, not letting his thoughts get the best of him. He could never give into Yuta, no matter how much he craved for that brief, intimate touch.

Yuta stayed glued to his spot, eyes holding challenge in them. He was testing Taeyong, who was still pressing the edge of the blade against his groin - Taeyong was pretty sure the man knew he was capable of castrating him there and then, but then again, Yuta had always been one to test his nerves and cross un-drawn boundaries.

To Taeyong's surprise, the Japanese backed off slowly, eyes glinting still glinting with mischief. Taeyong smirked softly and tucked the knife back in it's place, before walking past Yuta, silently murmuring 'good dog' to himself.

As the day went by, Taeyong felt more and more restless and annoyed. He hadn't found out anything worth reporting to the captain, who was expecting some news by now. What was he supposed to say? Would the Jaehyun get angry at him? 

The stars were veiled by the clouds, and a harsh wind in his face told him that wherever they were going was about to have a drastic drop in the climate.

A sense of deja vu trapped him, as he recalled the evening a few days prior when he had stood outside Jaehyun's cabin, mop and bucket in his sweaty palms. Instead of occupying his hands with them, he clenched his fists slightly, digging his nails into his palms.

He was about to knock when a voice interrupted him,

"What are you doing?"

It was a voice he didn't hear often, and yet it reminded him of that of his older brother. He turned around to meet Jeno's gaze. The boy studied him, a poised look on his face. He had walked down the stairs from the poop-deck and had a hand resting on the railing where he had frozen, as if he had caught Taeyong doing something wrong.

"The captain wished to see me..." Taeyong responded. The same, familiar feeling of being small returned to him, as Jeno continued observing him. What was it with these brothers that had this effect on him?

Jeno walked down the remaining two steps and approached him silently. The light from Jaehyun's cabin lit his face up, and Taeyong noted the similarities between the brother's. Both shared the same eyes - if they smiled, their eyes would from the shape of a crescent moon. They also shared the same sharp nose and strong jawline, along with broad shoulders and strong arms. Jeno lacked the prominent scars in his face. 

"Your name is Taeyong, right?"

Taeyong nodded, shivering from the wind. Or maybe it was the way Jeno's eyes scrutinize over him. Jeno stopped a few paces from him, and Taeyong had to lift his head slightly to look him in the eye. There was a beat of silence between them. Taeyong waited for the other to speak his mind. He must've had something important to say, since he hardly chose to speak at all otherwise.

"I haven't had the chance to thank you"

Oh?

"I heard that you helped my brother take care of the English-scum that threatened to kill him in his cabin." Jeno clarified, noticing Taeyong's face resembling a question-mark.

This wasn't something Taeyong expected. He'd expected getting scolded for doing nothing wrong, rather than receiving 'thanks' from none other Jaehyun's brother.

"Oh, yeah. That was nothing... I figured he'd appreciate the help." Taeyong laughed breathlessly, not knowing how else to respond. 'You're welcome for me saving your brother's life!' didn't sound right in his ears. Jeno didn't smile, but his expression relaxed by a little.

"He can be a bit uptight, and too prideful for his own good..." Jeno nodded towards the doors and lowered his voice, fearing his brother would hear him sell him short like this, but continued non the less.

"...But I know he appreciated the help, even if he hasn't said it yet."

Taeyong nodded, feeling that there was nothing else for him to say to that. Maybe Jeno was right. Maybe Jaehyun's ego as a captain prevented him from stooping so low as to thank a man for saving his ass. Taeyong wanted to scoff at this, but decided against it here in Jeno's presence. Jaehyun might have a stick up his ass, since even Jeno who had the second to highest ranking in the crew came to thank him on his brother's behalf.

Taeyong swallowed whatever he wanted to speak his mind about, and simply shrugged with a soft smile. He could see the genuine care in Jeno's eyes for his brother's well being. The least he could do was to dismiss him kindly,

"It's nothing, really. Just doing what anyone else would have done..."

Jeno observed him at this, looking as if he wanted to say something to that. Whatever it was that Taeyong detected in his eyes, Jeno hid it quickly and flashed him a dismissive smile, letting him carry on "Well... Best not keep my brother waiting."

And with that, he circled around Taeyong and moved to walk down the stairs to the main deck. Taeyong was left to himself again, mixed feelings about stepping inside the cabin. He swallowed before knocking on the glass and waited for permission to step inside.

"Come in..."

The familiar voice of Jaehyun carried through the door and soon Taeyong found himself pushing the handle of the door down.

Bonus:

Johnny looked at the pendant in his palm for the nth time, a sigh leaving his mouth as he forced himself to think of apologies that he could offer Ten.

Lovely, beautiful Ten, who was busying himself with sharpening his knife, his back turned to the world on the ship. He was leaning against the railing on the forecastle of the ship. Johnny found that this was where Ten often came when he wanted to be alone.

Johnny opted for a silent apology. He had never been good with words anyway. He approached the spitfire slowly, taking the time to admire the way the wind ruffled his jet black locks and the way the white shirt he wore danced in the wind.

He stopped when his chest was fully pushed against Ten's lithe body. He felt warm and nice, with the other so snugly pushed into him, trapped between the railing and his towering body.

"I'm still angry." Ten warned, not stopping the movements of running the stone against the edge of his knife. If anything his movements turned more swift and aggressive.

"I know." Johnny spoke into Ten's neck as he leaned down to nose the familiar scent of home.

"I can't believe you'd do that to me." Ten continued, choosing to ignore the words coming from Johnny's mouth. He was hurt. Not by the fact that Johnny had lost his necklace, but because he had so easily been able to give away the one thing Ten held onto so dearly. Without a blink of an eye.

It was true the necklace was all wonky and made of scrap, but it was Ten's most priced possession. Johnny had made it himself and gifted it to him, for what Ten chose to see as a sign of his love for him. Now he wasn't so sure anymore. They were supposed to be partners in crime, inseparable, and by betting on the necklace, Ten felt that Johnny didn't feel as strongly about them as he did.

"I'm sorry." Johnny hugged his waist tighter to him, mumbling the words into his skin. He was genuine in his apology. He loved Ten, and his heart ached to see him so angry at him. Somewhere deep inside Ten must've known that, Johnny thought, as the other hadn't squirmed away from his grip like he first had anticipated.

"You're a fucking asshole, Johnny..." Ten continued, feeling tears swell behind his eyes as Johnny only pulled him harder into his hard chest, threatening to never release him.

"I'm sorry..." Johnny placed a kiss on his neck, before he moved his hands to put the necklace back on its rightful place around the Thai's neck. Ten quickly wiped his angry tears away, not wanting Johnny to see how weak, how emotional, he made him feel. He sniffled once, letting his eyes move over the black abyss of the ocean and the starlit sky blending together in the horizon, before he willed himself to turn around in Johnny's possessive grip.

"I hate you..." he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with the taller as he felt that he'd break into tears if he saw his lovers sincere and caring eyes bore into him. Ten was a weak, weak man.

Johnny moved his hands from his waist up to his face, cradling the skin like porcelain under his touch. Then he lifted his face to make eye contact with him, before pulling him in for a kiss. It was sweet and familiar. A feeling he had missed.

Johnny was an equally weak man.


	11. Stuck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Non-con themes at the end of the chapter! Be cautious!

Taeyong stepped into the candle lit cabin and closed the door behind him. He cleared his throat softly, to alert the other of his presence. Jaehyun wasn't sitting by his desk like last time.

Taeyong's eyes traveled to the shirtless form of his captain, sitting with his back turned to him on the bed. Taeyong saw how the muscles flexed when the other pulled his shirt over his scar-covered back. Taeyong wondered what had happened to the man, to have such marks all over his body and face. They were too many to be counted as accidental slices during sparring or battle wounds - a particularly deep scar lodged right between his shoulder blades caught Taeyong's attention. A stab wound.

"Well?"

Taeyong startled back to reality at Jaehyun's voice. He was still sitting on his bed, face slightly turned so he could see Taeyong from over his shoulder.

"There's nothing to report, sir. I've followed everyone closely enough to know that no one here is plotting anything against your ambitions and this journey...."

"I find that hard to believe..." Jaehyun stood up from his seat on his bed and approached Taeyong, who's heartbeat doubled at the sight of the shirtless man approaching him with such dominance.

He held a firm stance and looked up at Jaehyun when the man was close enough for him to see the way the light blue hue over his bad eye reflected in the candle light. Taeyong could see his grey'd pupil staring right back at him.

Jaehyun's frown deepened slightly. "You need to dig deeper. Infiltrate their groups. Go through their stuff. Hell, I don't even care if you start a rumor, as long as it attracts the right people out of the shadows..." 

Taeyong heard slight desperation, madness even, in Jaehyun's voice but chose not to react on it. He recognized the tell-tale signs of someone getting vexed in the way Jaehyun's shoulder's tensed and his breaths shortened.

"I'll do what I can, sir." Taeyong responded and breathed out softly when the other moved away from his space. He didn't think that coming with any protests or comments of his would do any of them any good, so he stayed silent. He watched the other as he sat down by his desk, and noticed the dents in his cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes - Jaehyun looked exhausted. Maybe he should ask someone to bring over some food or water. He'd have to check with Jeno.

The captain massaged his tired eyes over his eyelids and sighed.

Taeyong felt brave for a moment and spoke up. After all, he was a little concerned - a sick captain couldn't man a giant ship and crew, now could he?

"Sir? Are you alright? You look a little-"

"You're free to go." Jaehyun interrupted him with a dismissive wave of his hand, and didn't remove his gaze from the compass and the charts he was staring at. Taeyong was sure the other could memorize the charts detail for detail, as he had caught him looking it over too many times to count.

Taeyong decided against pressing on the matter as he was growing hungry, and was sure that Jaehyun's patience was hanging by a string. He only nodded in response and turned to leave from where his feet had been glued to for five minutes.

"Oh, and you can tell my brother that his 'uptight' brother can hear through the doors..." Jaehyun added, before stretching his neck. Taeyong heard a few audible pops of bone.

"Aye, sir."

When Taeyong was out of the suffocating room, he inhaled deeply. This task was proving to be more difficult than what he first had thought.

Days later, Taeyong's luck would slightly alter.

When he reached the dining hall, the first thing his eyes fell upon was the familiar sight of Johnny and Ten, kissing and whispering into each other's ears, the smaller of them sitting in the other's lap. Johnny had his arms around Ten possessively, while the other had thrown his arms around Johnny's broad shoulders.

It used to be a revolting sight for Taeyong, still was actually, but deep down he was relieved that those two had worked their differences out. If not for them, then at least for the sake of the crew - both tended to show their bad sides when angry or distracted.

"Taeyong!"

Kun's familiar voice sounded over the murmurs in the room and pulled Taeyong out of his reverie, and soon his eyes landed on the Chinese's form. Kun had already brought a bowl for him, and was calling him over with a wave of his hand - in the total opposite, enthusiastic, way from Jaehyun's earlier dismissal.

Taeyong strode over to the empty seat in front of his friend. A familiar scent of food his his nostrils straight away. He held back the urge to cough.

"Great. This again..." he mumbled to himself, examining his portion of stew - it looked more like mud than anything, and had a hint of chicken to it's taste - it tasted wrong in any case.

He reluctantly picked up his spoon and started eating, knowing damn well that if he didn't eat, someone else would gladly take his share. In great contrast to him, Kun was shoveling his stew down his throat like a starving man.

Taeyong chewed the weirdly bony parts and the overcooked potato in the food, before Kun broke their comfortable silence with a sentence that didn't really surprise him. The topic of their endeavor was just about the only thing they discussed next to the blood or shit-stains on the decks while scrubbing them.

"Any progress with the, uh, thing?"

Taeyong avoided eye contact and focused on eating as he shook his head no. His mind immediately moved back to his encounter with Jaehyun, and the similar question the captain had thrown at him. Jaehyun had loomed over him like a predator over prey, and Taeyong got goosebumps from only thinking about it - he didn't like it. Like Jaehyun was holding his toes over a fire, and he could do nothing but take what was given.

Oh, the mess he'd gotten into. He didn't want all this weight over his shoulders. Sometimes it was just best to stay clueless about matters, for your own good - Taeyong couldn't help that his curiosity always got the best of him though.

While spying on the crew, he had to simultaneously pretend to spy on the captain to gain information about their destination. It was tiring. On the other hand, he did have an option. He could just persuade Kun to back off, and tell him not to bother anymore, whilst he didn't have much of a say in the matter when it came to Jaehyun's orders.

"No. I've got nothing..." Taeyong spoke after chewing his mouthful and downing a hefty amount of drink down with it. He finally looked to Kun, who only nodded and sighed. 

"Thought so much. I, on the other hand, found out our heading." He replaced his disappointed frown with a pleased grin, and leaned further in.

This piqued Taeyong's interest slightly.

"In about two or three days, we should be approaching the shores of the most northern continent there is," Kun started, sipping on his drink. Would explain the fucking freezing winds, Taeyong thought to himself.

"Afterwards, we're going on land. There's something we need to retrieve before we reach our final destination..."

Taeyong couldn't believe it. How Kun had found out so much in just a few days, while Taeyong had been searching for answers for weeks. What would they need to retrieve?

"Where'd you hear all this?"

Kun held his grin from earlier and finished his drink,

"Mark told me. Said he overheard Yuta and someone speaking..."

Taeyong nodded in understanding, taking the information in. He frowned slightly, hoping that Kun hadn't reeled Mark in on their plotting.

"And you're sure of this?" Taeyong still held his suspicions about the whole ordeal. Kun shrugged at this.

"No, but it's the closest we've come to any answers. I'll take what I can get..."

Taeyong's gaze shifted to the form of two people sitting in a more secluded area. One of the people Taeyong recognized to be Yuta. He was huddled forward and looked suspiciously secretive for someone with such a high ranking as first mate. Taeyong squinted his eyes, noticing that the other person swiftly scanned the room for eavesdroppers with a swift turn of his head over his shoulders.

"Well, I'm calling it." Kun spoke suddenly, slamming his cup down on the table a little too loudly. Taeyong's eyes widened as he startled by the sudden noise, before he registered the words and nodded, bidding his crew-mate a good night. Kun eyed him for a second longer than necessary, his eyes following Taeyong's line of sight where it had wandered again to Yuta's broad shoulders.

When Kun departed with a dismissive wave of his hand and a look of "don't do anything stupid" (which Taeyong missed), Taeyong decided to watch his two suspects for a while. Maybe he'd finally get onto something? A clue to help him get captain Jaehyun off his back. For a while at least.

Remaining casual, Taeyong got up and walked to the table nearest to Yuta's table and sat down. Trying to catch something worthy of suspicion in Yuta's conversation, Taeyong failed to notice how someone kept trying to catch his attention.

An aggressive poke to his ribs had him turning his head to the assailant, brows turned into a frown, ready to call out the man who'd disturbed his thoughts.

"You're Taeyong, right?"

Taeyong refrained from massaging the surprisingly painful spot on his ribs as he nodded, eyes darting over the pretty face of the young man who he recognized as one of Mark's friends. He had tanned skin and a cocky demeanor.

"I'm Donghyuck. Mark's told me about you. I'm surprised we haven't had the chance to meet yet." The boy took a sip of his drink and eyed Taeyong. 

"Uhm, nice to meet you." Taeyong replied distractedly, before he moved his gaze back to Yuta's form. The Japanese hadn't taken notice of him yet. If he had, Taeyong was sure he would be swarmed by him like flies after dead flesh.

Much like Kun had done earlier, Donghyuck followed Taeyong's line of sight. Instead of a warning glance back at him, Donghyuck smirked.

"Is it any good?"

Taeyong frowned in confusion, turning his head back to the Donghyuck kid swiftly.

"What's good?"

Donghyuck grinned, taking another sip from his drink before answering. During that time Taeyong notices the captain walk down the stairs to join them for supper. A rare sight these past few days. He looked pale still, but at least he was getting something to eat. They locked eyes for two seconds, before Jaehyun was pulled into a conversation with Jeno.

"You're fucking him, right?" 

Taeyong's frown deepened further, sudden flashes of Jaehyun's bare chest crossing his mind. As quickly as any inappropriate thoughts began to form in his head he shook it, asking himself why on earth he thought about his shirtless captain towering over him in the cabin, candle-light dancing on his face because it had happened, and yet he hadn't thought any further over it before this random boy mentioned sex.

"What?" Taeyong could only repeat himself.

"Don't deny it! I've seen the two of you around!"

Taeyong thought back to any encounter's he'd had with Jaehyun that could have been interpreted wrong, but could think of none? He had only ever gone to his cabin, and that had all been strictly business related!

Yuta forgotten for a moment, Taeyong cleared his throat of the familiar lump that formed every time he thought about Jaehyun,

"Listen kid, what happens between closed doors is between me and him, and it certainly doesn't involve anyone sticking their dick anywhere!"

Donghyuck grinned at how defensive Taeyong got about the matter and downed the rest of his drink when Taeyong looked to Yuta's now empty table and excused himself from his company.

He'd been right all along, and was quite proud of his new-found detective skills - of course he had noticed the way Yuta had had the hots on the new boy, and him and Mark had guessed it to only be a matter of time before anything between the two of them happened. He'd be sure to explain to Mark in detail about the red blush covering Taeyong's face, before robbing his friend of the money they had bet on the matter.

To escape the weird confrontation from the weirder boy, Taeyong excused himself from the table to find out where Yuta had so suddenly disappeared. He had been distracted, and all because of Donghyuck's big mouth. Did the crew really think he was fucking the captain? He frowned, suddenly wishing for something more to drink.

Taeyong shook his head and walked to where he suspected the Japanese man to be lingering. He proved himself right when he opened the door to the cells, and found two figures. Lust and ill-will glazed in their eyes, they hardly heard when Taeyong stepped inside.

"What are you doing?" he spoke up, knowing full well what was about to go down. His eyes flicked over to Izabel's waking form, and back to the mop of silver hair that stopped in his tracks when he had announced his presence.

"Ah, doll. Come to join in the fun?" Yuta grinned malevolently. He was drunk, that much Taeyong could tell from the way he slightly swayed when he spread his arms in a theatrical stance, keys jingling in his hands.

Taeyong clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes at the nickname, moving from where he had been leaning against the door frame.

"Leave the girl alone."

He held his voice steady and authoritarian, which made the others scoff. Mainly Yuta, who responded with an amused snarl, "Think you can order me around, boy?"

Taeyong knew he had no authority, specially over the first mate, but he had to do something.

Another man standing next to Yuta groaned impatiently, "Hurry up, already..." He fumbled with the belt in his pants. Taeyong was sure that he'd spring trough the bars soon with the nasty way he was looking at the poor girl.

Taeyong's frown deepened and he moved over to where the man had pushed Yuta away to open the door himself. "Don't touch her." He pushed the man away, who stumbled slightly in his drunken state. When he straightened up again, he growled at Taeyong and made a move to punch him. Taeyong avoided the swing, and by doing so he moved a step closer to Yuta, who grabbed him and forcefully pushed him face first against the cell bars.

Taeyong struggled against Yuta's surprisingly strong grip and growled. What a fucking asshole.

"I didn't know the bitch got herself a second guard-dog, did you, Vince?" Yuta snickered, eyes wandering the expanse of Taeyong's angered face. He understood that they meant Mark, who, as fate would have it, was on the look-out right now.

The man named Vince only snickered as he searched for the keys he had dropped to the ground with Taeyong's impact into him. Taeyong writhed against Yuta's death grip. His face was pressed painfully into the rusty metal by one hand, but he showed no pain on his face. Not even when Yuta twisted his arms as he leaned into his ear, alcohol stenched breath fanning over his skin,

"Listen, sugar, it’s either her or you. I’m getting my dick wet and I don’t mind the hole I’m using..."

The way he spoke was repulsive, and the warm breath on his neck made the hairs on it stand in a way that was far from pleasant. Taeyong understood the implications behind his words crystal clear, but didn't back down. He made eye contact with Izabel, who had moved to the corner furthest away from them. He could detect slight gratitude for standing up for her in her hollow eyes.

The pressure of Yuta's hand over his neck and the one holding his arms was suddenly lifted from him, and he turned around quickly to land a blow at Yuta for pushing him around like that,

His fist was caught, however, and the new grip on his wrist forced him to turn his eyes onto a scarred face.

Taeyong's frown didn't let up, but he relaxed his arm and yanked it away from the grip as Jaehyun told him to stand down with an icy glare. Then he nodded his head in the direction of the door, beckoning Taeyong to take his leave.

Taeyong's shoulder brushed against Jaehyun's when he made his exit. Yuta examined the exchange closely, curious to what made the captain himself bother to separate two crew-members in a feud. That job usually befell his brother.

Jaehyun fixed Yuta with the same cold glare, voicing out a "We don't turn on our own, Yuta"

Yuta huffed out a sigh, eyes averting to the ground.

Jaehyun's gaze wandered to Vince, who had found the keys and was fumbling to find the right one, then to Izabel. She wished for Jaehyun to tell the others off, this much was clear to Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun examined the girl silently, tongue running across the inside of his cheek as a force of habit. Granted, she was nice to look at. Not that he understood why Taeyong was so protective over her. She was just a peasant girl, nothing more. He held her eyes in his for a while, instilling false hope where there was none, before breaking out of his reverie.

He turned on his heel and took his leave,

"Leave her face. I like her pretty..." Jaehyun spoke finally as he made his way after Taeyong, a menacing grin taking form on his features when he heard the cell door open and sounds of protest fill the air.


End file.
